Home Politics UK Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigns

UK Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigns

by host

LONDON — Theresa May’s Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigned on Thursday morning, saying he could not support the withdrawal agreement approved by Cabinet Wednesday.

Raab, who is the second occupant of the office to resign this year, after David Davis’ departure in July, said he “cannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EU.”

In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Raab said he was concerned the regulatory regime for Northern Ireland proposed under the “backstop” guarantee for avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland represented “a very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom.”

He added that he could not support an “indefinite” backstop arrangement.

Raab had been known to favor a unilateral mechanism for the U.K. to leave the backstop — a provision which was not included in the draft withdrawal agreement published on Wednesday.


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