U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday he would step down in three months’ time to allow a new leader to negotiate the U.K.’s exit from the European Union after Britons voted 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent to leave the EU in Thursday’s referendum.

    Cameron, who has been prime minister for six years, said his successor will trigger the so-called Article 50 which starts the departure process from the EU.

    His successor would be elected by the members of his party ahead of its annual conference in October.

    Whilst maverick UKIP leader Nigel Farage, a fervent anti-EU campaigner, proclaimed Thursday as Independence Day for the U.K., others were shocked.

    Chuka Umunna, a Labor legislator and a prominent Remain campaigner, described the decision as a “seismic event for our country.”

    J.K. Rowling, multi-millionaire author of the “Harry Potter” series of books, was a prominent backer of the Remain campaign, and tweeted: “Scotland will seek independence now: Cameron’s legacy will be breaking up two unions. Neither needed to happen.’’(China Daily)