Tony Blair announced Thursday that he will step down as Labour Party leader and quit his job as British prime minister on June 27.

He made the announcement to a small audience of around 250 in the Trimdon Labour Club in his Sedgefield constituency, central England, after telling his cabinet colleagues earlier about his plans.

In his public speech, Blair told his constituency, "In this job, in the world today, I think that is long enough for me, but more especially for the country."

He recalled major events of his political career including British intervention in Kosovo and peacekeeping in Sierra Leone, as well as the military involvement in Iraq. About Iraq, he reiterated, "I may have been wrong, but I did what I thought was right for our country."

"I have always put the country first," said Blair in an emotional speech to a warm and welcoming audience.

"Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right for our country," he said, referring proudly that after Labour's 10-year rule, "Britain is the greatest nation on earth," and that he has left the country with "higher hopes about the future".

"There is only one government since 1945 that can say all of the following: more jobs, fewer unemployed, better health and education results, lower crime and economic growth in every quarter," he said.

"I give my thanks to you, the British people for the times that I have succeeded and my apologies for the times I have fallen short," he concluded.

Blair's Thursday statement ended months of speculation about the timetable for his exit from power.

His likely successor, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, was said to have paid a "fulsome" tribute to him at the morning meeting in No. 10, Downing Street.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott also announced that he would resign as the Labour Party's deputy leader and quit as deputy prime minister in the summer.

In the interval before his departure as prime minister, a government spokesman said earlier Wednesday, Blair will focus on domestic and international affairs, including health and education reforms, as well as the forthcoming G8 and EU summits, until his successor, almost certain to be Gordon Brown, is chosen by Labour in about seven weeks.

With heavyweight contestants from the cabinet now all giving up their bid for the Labour leadership in order to keep a united party following its blow in last week's local elections, Brown is the clear favorite to succeed Blair. Brown is expected to start his leadership campaign from Friday.