UK’s Brexit Secretary David Davis has resigned | Digital Asia

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Conservative MP David Davis arrives at Downing Street on July 13, 2016 in London, England.

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• UK Brexit Secretary David Davis has resigned, according to media reports.
• Davis told UK Prime Minister Theresa May that it is looking “less and less likely” that the government will be able to orchestrate a full departure from the EU.

UK Brexit Secretary David Davis, who is responsible for negotiating the UK’s departure from the EU, resigned on Sunday.

Davis’ resignation was also accompanied by the resignation of his deputy, Brexit minister Steve Baker, according to the Telegraph.

In a resignation letter circulated by local reporters, Davis told May he has repeatedly disagreed with the government over the last year and that it is looking “less and less likely” that the government can deliver Brexit per voters’ wishes.

“The general direction of policy will leave us in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one,” Davis wrote.

David Davis’s resignation letter: it is now looking “less and less likely” that the Government can “deliver on the mandate of the
referendum, and on our manifesto commitment to leave the customs union and the single market” pic.twitter.com/cnBwsBCtZI

— Jon Stone (@joncstone) July 9, 2018

“The Cabinet decision on Friday crystallised the problem,” Davis added, calling himself a “reluctant conscript” if he had stayed in the role to push May’s plans.

On Friday, the UK cabinet supported Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for a “soft” Brexit.

At a summit at Chequers in the English countryside on Friday, all 12 cabinet members agreed to a plan that would follow EU rules on goods to ensure “frictionless” trade and prevent a hard Irish border.

May has responded to Davis’ resignation with a two-and-a-half page letter of her own, saying she does “not agree” with Davis’ characterization of Friday’s proposal, instead calling it a “precise, responsible, and credible basis” for UK-EU relations.

Here is PM’s 3 page response to Davis punchy resignation letter: pic.twitter.com/XkMUi11iEn

— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) July 9, 2018

George Freeman, May’s former policy chief, said on Twitter that a “no deal” Brexit “just got a lot more likely.”

This is a developing story. Click here for updates.