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Brexit minister Lord Frost has resigned from the government - here’s how people are reacting

Brexit minister Lord Frost has resigned from the government - here’s how people are reacting

Brexit minister Lord Frost has resigned from Boris Johnson’s government.

According to The Mail on Sunday, which first reported the news, the politician handed in his resignation a week ago, and in his letter - which was circulated in the media last night- he said it would take “immediate effect”.

Writing to prime minister Boris Johnson about his reasons for his resignation, he said that while he was proud of a “secure” Brexit which “gave us full freedom about our future choices as a country”, he had “concerns about the current direction of travel” of the government.

He added he wished to see a “lightly regulated, low-tax, entrepreneurial economy” and spoke of a “need to learn to live with Covid”, saying “I hope we can get back on track soon and not be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere.”

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Frost led the UK’s negotiations over the EU Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol which are still ongoing, so his resignation also raises questions about what will happen next.

And his resignation also comes amid concerns about Johnson’s leadership after the Tories suffered a by-election defeat on Friday, losing safe seat North Shropshire to the Liberal Democrats after incumbent Owen Paterson resigned in November over that sleaze scandal.

Meanwhile, 99 of Johnson’s own MPs rebelled against the introduction of Plan B measures to deal with the spread of coronavirus last week, the government is dealing with the fallout of alleged controversial Christmas parties, and there are rumours that conversations are happening about which leading Tory could replace Johnson.

So, with the departure of Frost, it appears that Johnson’s leadership could be further damaged. Here’s how MPs, journalists and other public figures have reacted to his shock departure:

The prime minister responded by thanking Lord Frost for his “unique contribution towards getting Brexit done”.

Yeah, thank goodness for that...

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