British Prime Minister Theresa May has warned that the UK faces "difficult times ahead" as the country prepares to leave the European Union. 
Speaking to the Andrew Marr Show, in her first major interview since taking office, May warned Brexit would not be "plain sailing" for the UK, the (BBC) reported. 
She said formal EU talks will not begin until 2017, but vowed the process would not be "kicked into the long grass". 
May also ruled out a snap general election, as the UK needs "stability". 
"We have had some good figures and better figures than some had predicted would be the case. I'm not going to pretend that it's all going to be plain sailing," May said before travelling to China for the G20 summit. 
"I think we must be prepared for the fact that there may be some difficult times ahead. But what I am is optimistic," she said. 
She insisted the country would "make a success" of leaving the EU, saying she was also "optimistic" about new opportunities for Britain outside the EU