The top judge of Egypt's Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour, is to be sworn in as interim leader, hours after the army ousted President Mohammed Morsi and put him under house arrest, according to BBC News.

Army chief Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi announced the move on Wednesday, July 3 in what Mr Morsi said was a military coup.

Gen Sisi said Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, had "failed to meet the demands of the people".

The move comes after days of mass rallies against the Islamist president.

Protesters accused him and the Muslim Brotherhood of pursuing an Islamist agenda for the country and of failing to tackle Egypt's economic problems.

The removal of the president followed four days of mass protests against Morsi and an ultimatum issued by the military, which expired on Wednesday afternoon.

In his televised speech, Gen Sisi said the armed forces could not ignore the call of the Egyptian masses.

He spoke of a new roadmap for the future, and said Mansour would be given the task of "running the country's affairs during the transitional period until the election of a new president".

Mansour, currently chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was scheduled to be sworn in as head of state at around 10:00 (08:00 GMT).