UK Brexit Minister Quits as New COVID Rules Spark Anger

  • Date: 19-Dec-2021
  • Source: Asharq AL-awsat
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Middle East
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UK Brexit Minister Quits as New COVID Rules Spark Anger

David Frost took aim at the government's latest COVID rules as he walked away from his job.(AP)

A senior member of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet resigned Saturday night, adding to a sense of disarray within a government that has faced rebellion from his own lawmakers and voters this week.

Brexit Minister David Frost said in a letter to Johnson that he was stepping down immediately after a newspaper reported that he had planned to leave the post next month.

Frost said the process of leaving the EU would be a long-term job. “That is why 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,'' he said in his resignation letter.

However, the Mail on Sunday said earlier that he resigned because of growing disillusionment with Johnson’s policies. The newspaper said Frost’s decision was triggered by last week’s introduction of new pandemic restrictions, including a requirement that people show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test to enter nightclubs and other crowded venues.

And in his resignation letter, Frost said the UK needed to “learn to live with Covid. ... You took a brave decision in