Controversial UK Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, has resigned mere hours after Brexit Secretary David Davis also left his post, as the political crisis over the UK’s Brexit strategy intensifies ever-further.
Johnson’s sudden departure came a mere half hour before Prime Minister Theresa May was due to address Parliament about her new Brexit plan, the provisions of which have enraged angered many Euroskeptic Tory MPs. In a statement widely shared in the media, a Downing Street spokesperson thanked Mr Johnson for his work and said a replacement would be announced shortly.
The announcement came after he failed to attend the international Western Balkans Summit in London, which fueled much speculation a resignation was forthcoming — fellow attendee Michael Roth, German Minister of State for Europe, tweeted by early afternoon the gathered were “still waiting for our host.”
Davis quit late on July 8, saying he couldn’t support May’s plans for close trade and regulatory ties with the bloc after the UK leaves March next year. He was replaced by Dominic Raab, who strongly supports Britain’s EU exit. His resignation exposed the fractious split at the core of May’s government, between supporters of “hard” and “soft” Brexit. May’s official spokesman James Slack said the government needed to “to move forward at pace in these negotiations, and that’s what we are going to do.”
(Sputnik)
