Brexit Secretary resigns following Cabinet Meeting
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigned - throwing Theresa May's government into turmoil after she clinched a Brexit deal that was mauled by opponents, allies and mutinous members of her party.
"I regret to say that, following the Cabinet meeting yesterday on the Brexit deal, I must resign," Raab said. May's plan threatened the integrity of the United Kingdom, he said.
"I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country in our manifesto at the last election. This is, at its heart, a matter of public trust."
European Union leaders will meet on Nov. 25 to endorse the divorce deal. May now faces the much more perilous struggle of getting parliament to approve the deal.
British journalists said anger among Brexit-supporting Conservative lawmakers was so high that they might call for a vote of no confidence in her leadership. There was no confirmation.
ITV reporter Robert Peston said enough demands for a no confidence vote could be lodged by lunchtime on Thursday.
The ultimate outcome for the United Kingdom remains uncertain: scenarios range from a calm divorce to rejection of May's deal, potentially sinking her premiership and leaving the bloc with no agreement, or another referendum
Earlier the Northern Ireland Secretary became the first of May's government to resign since she won the backing of her senior ministers for her draft Brexit deal with the European Union on Wednesday, a deal which has so far been mauled by opponents.
Vara criticised her deal in his resignation letter, saying that it left the UK "in a half-way house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation".
Vara said he could not support the draft agreement.
"We are a proud nation and it is a sad day when we are reduced to obeying rules made by other countries who have shown they do not have our best interests at heart. We can and must do better than this," he said.
Published: by Radio NewsHub