Brexit Secretary resigns over EU agreement

Brexit Secretary resigns over EU agreement

Dominic Raab. (Xinhua/Han Yan/IANS)

London, Nov 15 (IANS) Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigned on Thursday saying he "cannot in good conscience support" the UK's draft Brexit agreement with the European Union (EU).

Raab's resignation comes after British Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Wednesday night that she had secured the backing of her cabinet for the agreement, after a five hour meeting, reports the BBC.

In his resignation letter, Raab said he could not support it because the regulatory regime proposed for Northern Ireland "presents a very real threat to the integrity of the UK".

The "backstop" arrangements aimed at preventing the return of a hard Irish border would result in the EU "holding a veto over our ability to exit", he said.

"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 added in the letter.

Raab - a Leave supporter who was promoted to the cabinet to replace David Davis when he quit in protest to May's Brexit plans - is among a group of senior ministers thought to be unhappy with the agreement.

May is scheduled to make a Commons statement on the Brexit agreement later in the day.

--IANS

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