Head of the UK Government Legal Department Jonathan Jones has resigned over a dispute with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is seeking to override key parts of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, namely provisions relating to Northern Ireland, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing two officials familiar with the situation
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2020) Head of the UK Government Legal Department Jonathan Jones has resigned over a dispute with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is seeking to override key parts of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, namely provisions relating to Northern Ireland, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing two officials familiar with the situation.
This week, the UK House of Commons is planning to vote on the government's new bill aimed at nullifying key parts of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU that was signed by former Prime Minister Theresa May, which, in turn, hampers reaching a post-Brexit deal, set to be finalized by the end of this year. If adopted, the provisions including agreements on state aid and Northern Ireland customs would be overridden.
According to the newspaper, the treasury solicitor was "very unhappy" about the decision to replace parts of the Northern Ireland protocol of the 2019 withdrawal agreement with new parts in the UK internal market bill, according to which the UK prime minister will be given powers to interpret the protocol.
The official's formal departure is expected to be announced later on Tuesday, the newspaper reported, adding that the Cabinet Office refused to comment.
Jones has become the sixth senior UK government official to leave his position this year over growing tensions with the prime minister. His resignation follows that of National Security Adviser Mark Sedwill, head of the Diplomatic Service at the UK Foreign Office Simon McDonald, Permanent Secretary at the Home Office Philip Rutnam, Permanent Secretary for Justice Ministry Richard Heaton, as well as Permanent Secretary of the Department for education Jonathan Slater.
