Gordon Brown bids emotional goodbye to "second most important job of his life"

London, May 12 (ANI): In an emotional farewell British Prime Minister bid goodbye to 10 Downing Street. Addressing the assembled crowd from a lectern placed on the street outside his soon to be former residence, he said it was a "privilege" to serve as Prime Minister and spoke of the Prime Minister's role as one with a "weight of responsibilities" and "great capacity for good".

The former Prime Minister was on the verge of tears with his voice cracking several times as he read out his statement, "Our troops represent all that is best in our country and I will never forget all those who have died in honour and whose families today live in grief," The Telegraph quoted him as saying.

Accompanied by wife Sarah Brown said that being Prime Minister was the second most important job he could hold, "the second most important job I could ever hold" after being a husband and father.

He exited 10 Downing Street through a back-door and had a short audience with the Queen to whom he formally tendered his resignation. After this he headed to the Labour Party headquarters.

Brown had come in for stinging criticism from his own party members in recent times for his reluctance over relinquishing the Prime Ministerial post.

However all that seemed forgotten as his party members, MPs and Cabinet Ministers greeted him warmly, some of them in tears. (ANI)