Boris Johnson faces his second resignation in two days, following the decision of Lord Frost to quit as Brexit minister. The current plans for leaving the EU are said by some journalists to be a “fantasy” with no evidence that any trade deal can or will be achieved.
Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister, has resigned from the government. (Photo courtesy of PA)
Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, has resigned from the cabinet, adding to the pressure on Boris Johnson, who is already under fire.
At the conclusion of a week in which the Prime Minister lost a safe Tory seat and faced a third of his MPs rebelling in parliament, he now looks to have lost a major friend.
Lord Frost, the Brexit negotiator, is said to have handed in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Theresa May last week.
According to the Mail on Sunday, he was persuaded to remain on until January.
According to reports, the senior minister opposed to the execution of Plan B coronavirus measures, including the use of Covid cards to visit major stadiums.
Other government measures, such as tax hikes and the expense of net zero climate change promises, had also disillusioned him, according to the article.
Lord Frost has lately been involved in difficult talks with the EU in an attempt to modify the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol.
The UK has claimed that the EU is following the protocol too strictly and that it wants to eliminate customs inspections between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
Last week, Lord Frost allegedly handed in his resignation, but was convinced to continue on until January (Picture: REX)
Lord Frost issued a statement on Friday, calling it “disappointing” that he had not been able to reach a new deal before the end of the year.
He said he met with Maros Sefcovic, vice-president of the European Commission, on Friday and that talks will restart in 2022.
While there had been “some progress,” he noted that there had not been “as much, or as rapidly as we had planned.”
The announcement, according to Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, represents “a Government in absolute disorder at a time when the nation confronts an uncertain few weeks.”
Boris Johnson has had one of his worst weeks as Prime Minister. (Photo courtesy of Getty)
‘@BorisJohnson isn’t up to the job,’ she tweeted. We are entitled to better than this nonsense.’
Mr Johnson’s Conservatives lost the North Shropshire by-election to the Lib Dems on Thursday, only days after 100 of his MPs voted against his new Covid proposals.
Mr Johnson is ‘running out of time and out of friends to deliver on the pledges and discipline of a real Conservative Government,’ according to Conservative backbencher Andrew Bridgen.
‘Lord Frost has made it obvious, 100 Conservative backbenchers have made it clear, but most importantly, the people of North Shropshire have made it clear,’ he tweeted.
Additional Information: Politics
Northern Ireland MPs were shocked by the revelation, as they had hoped Lord Frost would be able to rework the detested protocol.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the head of the DUP, said Mr Johnson’s departure was a poor indication for his promise to abolishing the Irish Sea border.
‘This administration is distracted by internal turmoil, and Lord Frost was disappointed on a number of fronts,’ Sir Jeffrey added.
‘We send our best wishes to David. We had a good working relationship with him and his staff, but this raises significant concerns about the Prime Minister’s attitude to the Northern Ireland Protocol.’
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