Lord Frost has resigned as the Brexit secretary, according to a Daily Mail ‘exclusive’.
The long-term ally of the prime minister walked this evening due to growing ‘disillusionment’ with the ‘direction’ of Tory policy.
It is understood that his departure had been prompted by the introduction of ‘Plan B’ Covid measures, including vaccine passports.
A senior government source said he had also become frustrated with tax rises and the staggering cost of ‘net zero’ environmental policies.
If the reports are accurate, Lord Frost’s decision will pile more pressure on the Prime Minister at a time when he is reeling from the Tories’ disastrous loss in the North Shropshire by-election, and the worsening Covid-19 situation as cases rocket, fuelled by the Omicron variant.
It also comes at a delicate time in the Brexit process, with the Brexit minister being forced into another Brexit climbdown this week.
On Friday, it was announced the UK had abandoned its attempt to strip EU judges of the power to oversee the Northern Ireland protocol.
The U-turn – denied by Downing Street just days ago – would allow the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to interpret the agreement, despite repeated pledges to “remove” its role.
The move comes after Lord Frost also pulled back from threats to trigger Article 16 of the Protocol, despite Unionist anger over the trade barrier created in the Irish Sea.
Labour’s shadow Brexit minister, Jenny Chapman, tweeted: “As if we didn’t already know, Lord Frost resigning shows the government’s in chaos.
“The country needs leadership not a lame duck PM whose MPs and cabinet have lost faith in him.
“Boris Johnson needs to apologise to the public and explain what his plan is for the next few weeks.”
As the architect of Brexit, Lord Frost’s departure is set to be “extremely significant” for Mr Johnson, whose goal is to “get Brexit done”.
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