London: Brexit minister, Lord David Frost, has resigned as the man in charge of overseeing matters related to Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) amid opposition to "coercive" lockdown restrictions due to a surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Lord Frost, who led the UK's negotiations over the EU Withdrawal Agreement and has carried on talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol that governs arrangements between EU member-state Ireland and UK's Northern Ireland, handed in his letter of resignation to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday.
The letter reveals that a plan for him to leave the post in the New Year was already agreed between them but that was brought forward after the Mail on Sunday' reported on his exit.
We agreed earlier this month that I would move on in January and hand over the baton to others to manage our future relationship with the EU. It is disappointing 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, reads Lord Frost's resignation letter.
Brexit is now secure. The challenge for the Government now is to deliver on the opportunities it gives us. You know my concerns about the current direction of travel. I hope we will move as fast as possible to where we need to get to: a lightly regulated, lowtax, entrepreneurial economy, at the cutting edge of modern science and economic change, he writes.
With reference to media reports of his opposition to the increasing lockdown curbs related to COVID-19, the letter adds: We also need to learn to live with COVID and I know that is your instinct too. You took a brave decision in July, against considerable opposition, to open up the country again.