In light of Theresa May’s Brexit plan and the resignation of Brexit secretary David Davis, foreign secretary Boris Johnson resigns.
The foreign secretary is now the second cabinet minister to resign within 24 hours after the outcome of the Chequers meeting. He quit just before Theresa May was going to introduce her Chequer’s plan in Parliament about the customs agreement for the Brexit plan.
Throughout the weekend, many people close to Boris Johnson have said that it would be unlikely for him to resign. It has been speculated that Boris Johnson had previously referred to the PM’s attempt of creating and delivering the Brexit plan as ‘polishing a turd’.
A spokesperson at Downing Street stated:
“This afternoon, the prime minister accepted the resignation of Boris Johnson as foreign secretary. His replacement will be announced shortly. The prime minister thanks Boris for his work.”
The BBC’s political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg tweeted that it was an “embarrassing and difficult situation for the PM into potentially a full-blown crisis”.
The ex-Foreign Secretary was the face of the Leave campaign and has been against Brexit for some time now. He did not show his support on some occasions such as on the day of the vote for the third Heathrow runway earlier this month.
On Monday afternoon, Mrs May appeared in parliament to defend her plan and stated:
“We do not agree about the best way of delivering our shared commitment to honouring the result of the referendum.”
Labour MP and deputy leader of the opposition party stated: “The country is at a standstill with a divided and shambolic government. The Prime Minister can’t deliver Brexit and has zero authority left.”
The government’s white paper will be published on Thursday detailing the Brexit deal.
