Brexit Secretary David Davis has resigned from the UK government. His resignation comes days after Theresa May secured her cabinet’s backing for her Brexit plan despite claims from Brexiteers that it was too “soft”.
Mr Davis was appointed Brexit secretary in 2016 and was responsible for negotiating the UK withdrawal from the EU.
It comes after Mr Davis is understood to have disagreed with Theresa May’s plans for future customs arrangements with EU.
Tory Brexiteers have threatened to challenge the prime minister’s leadership over a strategy agreed by ministers after 12 hours of closed talks at Chequers on Friday.
Some Conservative MPs told The Independent they believed there could be enough disgruntled MPs willing to trigger a leadership contest in a bid to remove Ms May.
But even if the 48 needed to oust Ms May materialised, a poll for The Independent showed a majority of the public would expect a general election to be called if Ms May goes.
The move is a major blow to Theresa May, who was hoping to convince Tory Brexiteers that her plans for leaving the European Union were the right way forward.
But Mr Davis, who signed up to the plan agreed by the Cabinet at Chequers on Friday, dramatically quit late on Sunday night.
His exit may embolden Brexiteer backbenchers with concerns about Mrs May’s leadership.
The move comes on the eve of a major test for the Prime Minister as she faces first the House of Commons and then a potentially stormy meeting of Tory MPs and peers on Monday.
Mrs May is expected to tell MPs that the strategy agreed on at Chequers is the “right Brexit” for Britain.
