May day: Johnson resignation piles pressure on PM, Twitter erupts
Boris Johnson has resigned as foreign secretary in protest at Theresa May’s post-Brexit trade deal. It risks plunging the Tory government into a full-blown crisis as he’s the third minister to resign in 24 hours.
READ MORE: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson resigns - Downing Street
Johnson abandoned his ministerial role after reportedly claiming attempts to defend May’s plan – agreed on Friday during a 12-hour cabinet meeting at her country residence Chequers – were like “polishing a turd.”
The Brexiteer – once described by May as an FFS – a Fine Foreign Secretary – said he could not promote the Brexit agreement, which would effectively see the UK abiding by EU regulations in order to establish a free trade area between the UK and EU.
Politicians come and go but the problems they have created for people remain. I can only regret that the idea of #Brexit has not left with Davis and Johnson. But...who knows?
— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) July 9, 2018
Germany's Europe minister is waiting for Boris Johnson to turn up at a West Balkans summit the UK insisted on hosting. Embarrassing. https://t.co/jwDddM0ZfJ
— Jeremy Cliffe (@JeremyCliffe) July 9, 2018
A Downing Street spokesman said: “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.”
It comes just hours after Housing Minister Dominic Raab was appointed as the successor to Brexit Secretary David Davis who resigned on Sunday night. Davis said it would not be “plausible” for him to deliver the PM’s trade agreement if he did not “believe” in it, saying it gave “away too much too easily” to EU negotiators.
Johnson’s abrupt departure was largely welcomed by his political rivals on Twitter, while fellow Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage welcomed his stance against the soft Brexit plan.
In a Facebook post about May’s cabinet woes, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that “even the British king of political eccentrics didn’t want to stay in the leaky boat."
We have the worst Foreign Secretary I’ve ever known. Weak, self-centred, arrogant, ignorant and rude. https://t.co/9EQWig3fhz
— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) July 9, 2018
CORRECTION: We *had* the worst Foreign Secretary. https://t.co/wwV6wIlmzo
— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) July 9, 2018
Bye bye Boris. Sources in the FCO tell me they're breaking out the bunting and the Bolly.
— Owen Smith (@OwenSmith_MP) July 9, 2018
Thanks for nothing https://t.co/vLzeTrdhTm
— Angela Eagle (@angelaeagle) July 9, 2018
With Boris out, the govt is on the ropes. And so is Brexit. The Tory soap opera has gone on too long. https://t.co/JJ0PB0cYQF
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) July 9, 2018
Don't let anyone fool you, Boris Johnson and David Davis are not principled. They are the two cowardly captains who take the first lifeboat to safety, as the rest of Britain continues full-steam ahead into the oncoming iceberg of Brexit.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) July 9, 2018
Boris could literally throw himself in front of a bus to save a child, and his opponents would still accuse him of being opportunistic. He’d never have wanted to resign from one of the great offices of state. That he did so shows how much he cares about respecting the referendum
— Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) July 9, 2018
Bravo @BorisJohnson. Now can we please get rid of the appalling @theresa_may and get Brexit back on track.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) July 9, 2018
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