Brexit secretary quits British post
LONDON — Britain’s most senior official in charge of negotiating the country’s exit from the European Union resigned Sunday, accusing Prime Minister Theresa May of undermining Brexit with her plan to keep close trade ties with the bloc.
Brexit Secretary David Davis quit just two days after Ms. May announced she had finally united her quarrelsome government behind a plan for a divorce deal with the EU.
In a blow to the beleaguered prime minister, Mr. Davis told Ms. May in a letter that the government’s proposals for close trade and customs ties “will leave us in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one.”
Mr. Davis’ late-night resignation undermined Ms. May’s already fragile government, which has lost several ministers in the past year over sexual misconduct allegations and other scandals. Mr. Davis was a strong proBrexit voice in a Cabinet divided between supporters of a clean break with the bloc and those who want to keep close ties with Britain’s biggest trading partner.
Ms. May’s office said a replacement for Mr. Davis would be announced Monday.
His departure could embolden Brexit-supporting Conservative lawmakers — who have long considered Ms. May too prone to compromise with the EU — to challenge her leadership.
The staunchly proBrexit Conservative lawmaker Andrea Jenkyns tweeted: “Fantastic news. Well done David Davis for having the principal and guts to resign.”
Ms. Jenkyns said Steve Baker, a junior minister in the Brexit department, had also quit. There was no immediate comment from Mr. Baker.
A double resignation would have the potential to derail Ms. May’s government and set in motion a chain of events that could lead to an attempt to oust her as prime minister. Such a stand may embolden pro-Brexit lawmakers to make a move against her.
Less than nine months remain until Britain leaves the bloc on March 29, 2019, and the EU has warned Britain repeatedly that time is running out to seal a divorce deal.
On Friday, Mr. Davis and the rest of Ms. May’s fractious Cabinet finally agreed on a plan for future trade ties with the EU.
Mr. Davis and fellow Brexit backer Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson both agreed to support Ms. May’s proposal for a softer divorce than she had originally planned, and it seemed she had survived the storm.
Mr. Johnson’s allies said on Saturday he decided not to quit as he wanted to remain in government to fight for the kind of Brexit he campaigned for.