Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

British Prime Minister Suffers Severe Blow Over Brexit As Ministers Quit

British prime minister Theresa May's Brexit secretary and other ministers quit one by one on Thursday (15), striking at the heart of a draft divorce deal with the European Union she is struggling to save.

Just over 12 hours after May announced that her team of top ministers had agreed to the terms of the draft agreement, Brexit minister Dominic Raab and work and pensions minister Esther McVey quit, saying they could not support it.


Their departure and the resignations of two junior ministers shakes May's divided government. Raab is the second Brexit secretary to quit over May's plans to leave the European Union, the biggest shift in British policy in more than 40 years.

By leaving now, some suggested that Raab could be positioning himself as a possible successor to May.

"Above all, I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country in our manifesto at the last election," Raab said.

"This is, at its heart, a matter of public trust," Raab said. "I cannot support the proposed deal."

Less than five months until Britain leaves the EU on March 29, the resignations put May's Brexit strategy in doubt.

EU leaders are ready to meet on November 25 to sign off on the divorce deal, or Withdrawal Agreement, but the drama is in London with some lawmakers openly questioning whether the government will survive.

One eurosceptic lawmaker in May's Conservative Party said more colleagues were either putting in letters to trigger a no-confidence vote in her leadership or were increasingly minded to do so.

A challenge is triggered if 48 Conservatives write such letters. May could be toppled if 158 of her lawmakers vote against her.

Britain's opposition Labour Party said the government was "falling apart".

"Theresa May has no authority left and is clearly incapable of delivering a Brexit deal that commands even the support of her cabinet, let alone parliament and the people of our country," said Jon Trickett, a member of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's senior team.

Customs Union

Raab, 44, was appointed to the role of Brexit secretary in July this year following the resignation of his predecessor David Davis, who also quit in protest at May's Brexit strategy.

At the heart of Raab's criticism of May's deal was the belief that the pursuit of a customs union with the EU would be the "starting point" for talks on the future relationship with the bloc, "severely prejudicing" what Britain could achieve.

He said May's plan threatened the integrity of Britain and he could not support an indefinite backstop arrangement - to prevent a return to a hard border on the island of Ireland - where the EU had a veto over Britain's ability to exit.

The backstop arrangement to come into force if a future trade deal does not prevent the return of a hard border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU-member Ireland has long been the main obstacle not only to a deal with the bloc but to any agreement of her top ministers.

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which props up May in parliament had already threatened to pull its support from the government if the backstop meant the province was treated differently from the rest of mainland Britain.

"No democratic nation has ever signed up to be bound by such an extensive regime, imposed externally without any democratic control over the laws to be applied, nor the ability to decide to exit the arrangement," Raab said in his resignation letter.

"That arrangement is now also taken as the starting point for negotiating the Future Economic Partnership. If we accept that, it will severely prejudice the second phase of negotiations against the UK."

Eurosceptics in May's party have long feared that the prime minister was leading Britain towards a customs union with the EU, something, they say, would mean a Brexit in name.

Nigel Dodds, the Democratic Unionist Party's deputy leader, welcomed the resignations, praising the ministers for standing up for "the Union".

Reuters

More For You

Zhenhao Zou

Zhenhao Zou, 28, lived in south London and used online platforms and dating apps to meet women, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.

Reuters

More women come forward with allegations against serial rapist Zhenhao Zou

TWENTY-THREE additional women have contacted police with allegations against Zhenhao Zou, a Chinese PhD student convicted in London last month of drugging and raping 10 women.

At the time of his trial, police had video evidence suggesting up to 50 more victims and were working to identify them. Detectives now believe the number of his victims is higher than initially estimated.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK Introduces Digital Entry Permit for European Visitors

The ETA can be purchased online for £10 (12 euros), but the cost will rise to £16 from 9 April. (Representational image: Reuters)

Reuters

European visitors to UK will now need digital entry permit

FROM WEDNESDAY, European visitors to the UK will need an online entry permit as part of new travel requirements introduced by the British government.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), a digital permit, will be required for travellers from Europe. UK officials say the move aims to enhance border security and simplify entry procedures.

Keep ReadingShow less
China pledges to be a good friend and partner to Bangladesh

Xi Jinping

China pledges to be a good friend and partner to Bangladesh

THE Chinese president, Xi Jinping, last Friday (28) pledged deeper cooperation with his Bangladeshi counterpart Muhammad Yunus in a meeting that came as Dhaka seeks new friends to offset frosty ties with India.

Yunus took charge of Bangladesh last August after the toppling of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi after a student-led uprising.

Keep ReadingShow less
Milton-Keynes

Eyewitnesses described hearing shouting before the shooting

iStock

Man shot dead by police outside Milton Keynes railway station

A MAN was shot dead by police outside Milton Keynes Central station after reports that he was carrying a firearm.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) said officers were called to the station at 12:55, where they challenged a suspect carrying a knife. The man moved towards officers before police fired at him.

Keep ReadingShow less
EXCLUSIVE: Eastern Eye wins press freedoms to help judges

SCRUTINY: The tribunal’s favourable verdict is an important win for accountability, say current and retired Asian judges (Pic credit: Getty Images/Leon Neal)

EXCLUSIVE: Eastern Eye wins press freedoms to help judges

A tribunal has ordered the body which appoints judges in England and Wales to disclose records it refused to give to Eastern Eye.

The decision is a major victory for press freedoms because it forces the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to become more open and transparent.

Keep ReadingShow less