D.he British Brexit Minister David Frost has announced his resignation according to media reports. The minister responsible for relations with the EU had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, writes the “Mail on Sunday” citing a high-ranking government source not named. The broadcaster ITV also reported this. He was referring to a spring close to frost. At first, the Downing Street seat of government refused to comment on the reports.
According to the “Mail on Sunday”, the Brexit Minister is said to have submitted his resignation around a week ago. Johnson persuaded him to stay in office until January. In the talks between Great Britain and the EU about the controversial Brexit rules for Northern Ireland, both sides had recently approached each other.
According to the report, the departure is said to be related to frustration over recent political decisions by the government. This should include the introduction of the particularly controversial 3G certificates (vaccinated, recovered or tested) for clubs and major events. As a result, nearly 100 Conservative MPs had rejected Johnson’s vote this week. The higher expenses for the path to climate neutrality and tax increases should also be a thorn in the side of frost.
Frost, who is also a member of the British House of Lords, negotiated the Brexit trade pact at the last minute with his French counterpart Michel Barnier, who represented the EU. This enables largely duty-free trade between Great Britain and the EU even after the country leaves the European Union. However, there are still many hurdles, problems and points of contention.
Sue Gray is supposed to investigate lockdown parties
The resignation is another blow to the office for Johnson, who is struggling with rising corona numbers and the consequences of lockdown parties. After new revelations about these parties in the London government circle, a high-ranking official is now to clarify who celebrated where, when and with whom. Sue Gray, who serves at the Department of Construction, was appointed to the job by Downing Street. On Friday, the previously assigned officer Simon Case had to give up the job because he is said to have tolerated celebrations in his department.
“She will find out the facts and present her results to the Prime Minister,” said Downing Street. It is unclear when this will happen. The results of Simon Case’s investigation had already been expected within these days.
Johnson has come under massive pressure in the past few weeks because he is said to have tolerated several celebrations on Downing Street or even participated himself during the strict Corona lockdown last year. In the current Corona situation, which is extremely tense due to the Omikron variant, this is becoming a serious problem: Due to the alleged breaches of the rules, further tightening for Johnson is now difficult to enforce.
“Which ministry didn’t have a party?”
The now appointed officer Sue Gray has a good reputation in Westminster across all parties. The Scottish MP Ian Blackford of the Scottish National Party (SNP) criticized in the BBC interview, however, that a government official was once again commissioned and called for an independent investigation.
Opposition Labor Party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the task now is to restore trust that has been lost. “Right now people are asking, ‘Which ministry didn’t have a party?'” She said. “It’s incredibly disappointing because we all know what was going on while these parties were taking place. People could not see their loved ones who were dying and made incredible sacrifices. “
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