LONDON- The British government says Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has resigned, amid a widening split in the Cabinet over Brexit, according to Associated Press (AP).
Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said May accepted the resignation on Monday and will announce a replacement soon.
A leader of the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union, Johnson was under pressure to act after the resignation of David Davis as Brexit secretary.
Davis quit late Sunday saying he could not support May’s plans for close trade and regulatory ties with the bloc after the U.K. leaves the European Union next year.
Eyebrows were raised after Johnson failed to appear at the Western Balkans Summit in London, which he was due to host, according to the Business Insider.
Johnson reportedly told his Cabinet colleagues at their meeting at Chequers last week that the Brexit policy put forward by Theresa May was akin to “polishing a turd.”
He has previously privately told friends that a soft Brexit would “rather stay in the EU” than accept a soft Brexit.
The move has thrown the prime minister into the biggest crisis of her premiership.
Hamda Mustafa