Boris Johnson is under attack on all fronts as the gaffes and missteps keep coming. Photo: AP
The UK’s Brexit Minister Lord Frost has resigned “with immediate effect”, adding to the strain on Boris Johnson after a tough few days for the British prime minister.
Johnson is battling a huge rise in COVID-19 infections, a party rebellion over tightened lockdown restrictions, an unexpected by-election defeat and ongoing controversy over lockdown-breaking festive celebrations.
Lord Frost, who has led negotiations with the EU, quit his post on Saturday, telling Johnson that building a new relationship with the European Union would be a “long-term task”.
He is believed to have handed in his resignation letter to Boris Johnson last week with an agreement to leave in January.
But in a letter to the PM released on Saturday evening, he said he was “disappointed that this plan has become public this evening and in the circumstances I think it is right for me to write to step down with immediate effect.”
Lord Frost thanked Johnson and said “Brexit is now secure”.
“The challenge for the Government now is to deliver on the opportunities it gives us,” he said in the letter.
“You know my concerns about the current direction of travel.”
Frost also said he was sad the unlocking from COVID-19 restrictions in the UK had not proved “irreversible” as promised, and added, “I hope we can get back on track soon and not be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere”.
Lord Frost’s resignation is the latest in a series of recent setbacks for Johnson.
-AAP