John Major will be the youngest British prime minister this century

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John Major is to be Britain's new prime minister after winning the Conservatives' leadership election.

Mr Major, 47, will visit the Queen at 1030 BST tomorrow to be formally appointed and will return to Downing Street as the youngest British leader this century.

The current Chancellor of the Exchequer did not achieve the majority required for an absolute victory, but the margin was clear enough for his rivals to withdraw and a third ballot was avoided.

Mr Major - who has been in parliament for only 11 years - said he was enormously encouraged so many had voted for him and would discharge his responsibilities to the best of his ability.

Current Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigned after Michael Heseltine challenged her for the leadership and close friends said she would lose.

The outcome of the ballot was announced by the chairman of the influential Tory backbench 1922 Committee, Cranley Onslow.

Mr Major received 185 votes, Mr Heseltine 131, and Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd trailed in with just 85.

The Huntingdon MP needed just two more votes for an absolute majority.

But within minutes of the results being read out both Mr Major's challengers withdrew from the contest.

Mr Heseltine said it had been a campaign fought between colleagues withoutrancourand one which laid the foundations of unity in the party.

And Mr Hurd told reporters he was convinced Mr Major was the right man to lead the party.

Mrs Thatcher also endorsed the new premier, saying she was thrilled with the choice.

"I want everyone in the party to rally behind him," she said.

Mr Major said he looked forward to leading the party to further victories.

"We're going to unite totally and absolutely and we're going to win the next general election," he said.   

Ross McWhirter was an outspoken critic of the IRA

Mr McWhirter was hit at close range in the head and stomach at 1845 GMT. He was taken to a local hospital, but died soon after being admitted.

The well-known author and BBC Record Breakers presenter recently offered a reward of ?0,000 for information leading to the arrest of IRA bombers.

Scotland Yard said no group had yet claimed to be behind the attack, but suspected the murder was a revenge kidnap attempt on his wife that went wrong.

The two gunmen are thought to have waited in the garden of the couple's Enfield house for an hour while Mr McWhirter was in the house.

When Rosemary McWhirter arrived home, the men approached her and demanded she hand over her car keys.

She ran into the house as her husband came to the front door and seconds later heard two shots.

The killers then used her blue Ford Granada to escape. Police later found the car abandoned a few miles away in Tottenham.

Mrs McWhirter and her two sons, Iain and James, were taken to a secret address soon after the murder, where they are being guarded around the clock.

Mr McWhirter edited the Guinness Book of Records with his twin brother, Norris, and also worked closely with Guinness Director David Hoy, who said the outspoken critic of the IRA was aware he could be in danger.

"He took normal precautions recommended by the police and always looked under his Mercedes - he also varied his routes home," he said.

rancour: a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will（敵意；深仇）