India, July 21 -- Andy Burnham, newly elected leader of the Labour Party, on Monday took charge as the UK's new Prime Minister.

King Charles III invited the 56-year-old former mayor of Greater Manchester to form a new Government following the resignation of Keir Starmer moments earlier to mark the formal handover of power. "The Rt. Hon. Sir Keir Starmer MP had an audience of the King this morning and tendered his resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, which His Majesty was graciously pleased to accept," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.

Burnham, elected Labour leader unopposed last week, is expected to get to work as PM immediately by announcing his picks for Cabinet. The country's fifth Prime Minister in fou...