Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom quit as MPs as Tory exodus continues before election

Michael Gove and Dame Andrea Leadsom have tonight announced they will not stand at the General Election.

The two leading Conservative MPs both announced they would be quitting as MPs this evening, 48 hours after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the election this summer. They have joined a huge number of their colleagues who have said they will not be standing, with 80 Tory MPs now quitting before July 4.

Housing Secretary Mr Gove, who has served under four Prime Ministers, said it was time for a "new generation" to lead, the Mirror reports. Dame Andrea, who is a Health Minister, said she was also going after "careful reflection".

Mr Gove, 56, has been the MP for Surrey Heath since 2005. He has held Cabinet jobs including Justice Secretary, Education Secretary, Chief Whip and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In a letter to the chairman of his local party, he wrote: "I know the toll office can take, as do those closest to me. No-one in politics is a conscript. We are volunteers who willingly choose our fate. And the chance to serve is wonderful. But there comes a moment when you know that it is time to leave. That a new generation should lead."

Mr Gove, who famously torpedoed Boris Johnson's Tory leadership campaign after the Brexit referendum, said he had "undoubtedly made mistakes" in his political career. But he said that he was proud of his work including his controversial reforms to the education system, which he argued were "designed to build a country where everyone - no matter their background - can become the authors of their own life stories".

He went on: "Having the chance to serve as a Member of Parliament and Minister has been a profound privilege. As a child in Aberdeen I could never have imagined I