Angela Eagle has dropped out of the race to become leader of the Labour Party.

Eagle's departure means that the contest will be a two-way run-off between incumbent leader Jeremy Corbyn and challenger Owen Smith.

Speaking to assembled journalists in Westminster, Eagle revealed she would be giving her support to Smith, saying: "I will be supporting Owen... with all of my enthusiasm and might."

Eagle said: "We have a Labour Party at the moment that is not working, we've got a leader that doesn't have the confidence of his Members of Parliament and isn't reaching out to the country.

"We need to have a strong and united Labour Party so we can be a good opposition, take the fight to the Conservative Government and heal our country.

"So I am announcing tonight that I will be supporting Owen in that endeavour with all my enthusiasm and might."

The Wallasey MP and former shadow business secretary was the first to mount a public challenge to the Labour leader, but decided to withdraw after it became apparent that Mr Smith had secured more nominations from party MPs and MEPs.

The challenge came after much of Corbyn's shadow cabinet resigned en masse following the EU referendum.

This culminated in a Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) vote which saw Corbyn's leadership rejected by 172 Labour MPs to 40 in a vote of no confidence - over 80% of the party's parliamentary group.

Eagle launched her bid to take over from Corbyn on July 11, claiming it was not a political "suicide mission".

However, she was embarrassed when her press conference was abandoned by some journalists in favour of attending Andrea Leadsom's announcement that she was quitting the Conservative Party leadership race.

Owen Smith received 88 nominations from Labour MPs and two from MEPs in the party's leadership contest, clearing the hurdle of 51 nominations to become a candidate.

Among his nominators is former party leader Ed Miliband.

Corbyn did not need to secure nominations from the PLP to take part in the leadership contest, following a ruling by the party's National Executive Committee.

Eagle said that while there had been "quite a narrow gap" in support from Labour parliamentarians for Smith and herself, she had decided it was in the party's best interests that she quit the race.

"When I looked at the results I didn't think it was in the interests of the party that this carried on," she said.

Former shadow work and pensions secretary Smith will now go forward to fight Corbyn in a ballot of party members and supporters which ends on September 24.