May hit by resignations over Brexit

British leader Theresa May suffered a huge blow on Thursday when a series of ministers including her Brexit secretary quit as she tried to sell her proposed EU withdrawal agreement to a divided parliament.

Dominic Raab resigned from his role at the Brexit ministry while a second cabinet minister and two junior government ministers also walked out over the draft deal.

But May insisted that while the negotiations had not been comfortable, it was the best Britain could hope for when it leaves the EU on March 29.

“If we get behind a deal we can bring our country back together and seize the opportunities that lie ahead,” she told lawmakers.

EU leaders will hold an extraordinary Brexit summit on November 25.

If they approve the deal, the British parliament is scheduled to vote on it in December.

But May faces stiff opposition to her agreement in the legislature from Brexit hardliners who see the deal as conceding too much to Brussels and EU supporters who want closer ties to the EU or a second referendum.

Before May spoke to MPs, Raab said he could not back the draft deal.

“I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country in our manifesto,” he said.

“You deserve a Brexit secretary who can make the case for the deal you are pursuing with conviction.

“I must resign.”

Brexit hardliner Esther McVey also quit as the work and pensions secretary.

Suella Braverman quit as a junior Brexit minister and Shailesh Vara resigned as a junior Northern Ireland minister over the draft accord.