Boris: UK would be a colony of the EU
BORIS JOHNSON has dramatically quit as foreign secretary, complaining that Theresa May’s plan for Brexit would leave the UK a “colony” of the European Union.
In a scathing resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Johnson said that, under her leadership, the UK was “heading for a semi-Brexit”, with the dream of an outward-looking global Britain “dying, suffocated by needless self-doubt”.
Mr Johnson’s shock departure was the second resignation of a Cabinet “big beast” in less than 24 hours, after Brexit secretary David Davis walked out late on Sunday.
Brexit minister Steve Baker also left the Government.
Both Mr Johnson and Mr Davis had signed up to Mrs May’s blueprint for Brexit at Friday’s summit at Chequers which the Prime Minister believed had secured Cabinet unity behind her proposals.
But her administration was thrown into disarray within 48 hours, as first Mr Davis and then Mr Johnson said that they could not commit themselves to promote the plans under the doctrine of collective responsibility.
Mr Johnson wrote: “On Friday, I acknowledged that my side of the argument were too few to prevail and congratulated you on at least reaching a Cabinet decision on the way forward.
“As I said then, the Government now has a song to sing.
“The trouble is that I have practised the words over the weekend and I find they stick in the throat. “We must have collective responsibility. “Since I cannot in all conscience champion these proposals, I have sadly concluded that I must go.”
Mr Johnson’s exit was announced by Downing Street moments before Mrs May faced the House of Commons to set out details of her plans.
The announcement came amid intense speculation about the Foreign Secretary’s intentions, after he missed a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergencies committee to discuss the Salisbury poisonings and stood up ministers from across Europe who had attended a Western Balkans summit which he was supposed to be hosting.
The Prime Minister was greeted by loud cheers from Tory MPs and shouts of “resign” from the opposition benches as she arrived to deliver a statement in which she said her proposals would deliver “a Brexit that is in our national interest ... the right Brexit deal for Britain”.
Mrs May heard Eurosceptic Tory backbencher Peter Bone tell how activists in his Wellingborough constituency refused to campaign at the weekend because they felt “betrayed” by the Chequers accord.
But she insisted her deal fulfilled the promises of the Tory manifesto to deliver an independent Britain able to take back control of its laws, borders and money, declaring: “This is not a betrayal.”
Downing Street made it clear the PM would fight any attempt to oust her by rebel MPs.