John Curtice, the UK's most prominent psephologist and the man behind the general election exit poll, says there is not now "any way at all that the Conservatives can get to the 326 mark" and win an outright majority.

Mr Curtice's team provided the polling model as voting closed at 10pm on Thursday night that suggested the Tories would take 314 votes, with Labour taking 266 and the SNP on 34.

And speaking at 5.20am on Friday morning, Mr Curtice said it looked like the exit poll would prove to be one of the most accurate ever produced.

Asked by the BBC's David Dimbleby if there was any way Theresa May could crawl over the line to victory, with some 40 seats still to declare, he said there was not.

"One always has to be cautious about these things," he said. "But it looks as though this time we might be one, two or three seats out, but that's about it.

"It looks as though our forecast is going to prove remarkably accurate, maybe in the end the most accurate exit poll yet. But we'll wait and see whether that proves to be the case."

"We cannot see any way at all that the Conservatives can get to the 326 mark, we think it is pretty clear that it is going to be a hung parliament."

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After his reelection was confirmed in Islington North, Jeremy Corbyn said the election result should mean the end of Ms May's tenure as Prime Minister.

And arriving at Maidenhead for her own constituency declaration, Ms May was forced to dodge Sky News presenter Kay Burley asking if she would resign.