The services of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced, Saturday evening, December 18, the resignation of Secretary of State for Brexit, David Frost. After the revelation of the information, a little earlier, by the newspaper Mail on Sunday, Downing Street published Mr Frost’s letter and the Head of Government’s response.
Deploring the leak in the press of information, David Frost announces his resignation with ” immediate effect “ and discusses his concerns about the ” direction “ that the government is currently taking.
According to Mail on Sunday, Mr Frost resigned a week ago, but Boris Johnson convinced him to stay until January as Secretary of State for Brexit, one of the hottest topics for the UK government . The newspaper writes that David Frost cited the new restrictions to fight the coronavirus, the tax hike and the policy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as the reason for his departure.
“You know my concerns about the current direction of things”, David Frost wrote to Boris Johnson, stressing that Brexit assured, “The challenge for the government now is to realize the opportunities it gives us”. Boris Johnson said ” sorry “ of David Frost’s resignation, expressing his gratitude for the work he has done.
This announcement is a new blow for Boris Johnson, surrounded by scandals. The prime minister this week suffered a sling from his camp over measures against Covid and the loss of a Conservative stronghold in a by-election in England.
“We deserve better than this buffoonery”
Labor Deputy Leader of the Opposition Angela Rayner reacted on Twitter, saying the “Government is in total chaos precisely when the country is going through weeks of uncertainty”. “@BorisJohnson is not made for the job. We deserve better than this buffoonery ”, she added.
A Government in total chaos right when the country faces an uncertain few weeks. @BorisJohnson isn’t up to the jo… https://t.co/VX00viTjCU
In the ranks of the majority, the deputy Andrew Bridgen said on Twitter than Boris Johnson “Is running out of time and friends to keep the promises and discipline of a true Conservative government”. “Lord Frost was clear, 100 Tory MPs were clear, but more importantly, North Shropshire voters were clear”, he also writes, referring to this conservative stronghold lost this week.
A supporter of a hard line against the European Union, David Frost led, for London, the negotiations with the European Union (EU) on the Brexit agreement and then its implementation, especially concerning the application of the controversial Northern Ireland protocol. The latter establishes a new customs regime for this British province, which de facto maintains it in the single market and the European customs union. The United Kingdom and the EU have been leading bitter talks for several months to resolve their differences on the implementation of this protocol, effective since the beginning of the year.
If David Frost has taken an inflexible position in recent weeks to demand that all recourse to European justice for the settlement of disputes be ruled out, the government recently seemed to soften its position on this subject. A career diplomat, David Frost worked in Brussels in the 1990s and was Ambassador to Denmark from 2006 to 2008. He also headed the Scotch Whiskey Association (SWA).