BBC News 19 December 2021
Brexit minister Lord Frost has resigned from government over "concerns about the current direction of travel".
In a letter to Boris Johnson, the peer, who led Brexit negotiations, said he hoped the PM would "not be tempted" by "coercive measures" to tackle Covid.
Earlier this week, Mr Johnson faced the largest rebellion of his premiership from Tory MPs over measures to limit the spread of the new Omicron variant.
And more than 10,000 of them were confirmed as Omicron infections.
London has declared a major incident, with Mayor Sadiq Khan saying the capital had the most cases of any UK region.
Lord Frost's resignation also comes after a major by-election defeat for the Conservatives, losing the formerly safe seat of North Shropshire to the Liberal Democrats.
The Mail on Sunday, which first reported the news, said he handed in his resignation a week ago, partly in disagreement with Covid curbs.
But in his letter to the prime minister, Lord Frost said now the arrangement to exit in January had been made public, he would leave with "immediate effect".
He wrote that Mr Johnson had been "an outstanding leader" during turbulence over Brexit, and the pair had a "close common understanding" on their aims in that area.
But after saying "Brexit is now secure", he added: "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, low-tax, entrepreneurial economy, at the cutting edge of modern science and economic change."
'Coercive measures'
Lord Frost moved on to his concerns over the government's handling of the virus, saying the country needed to "learn to live with Covid".
"I know that is your instinct too," he wrote. "You took a brave decision in July, against considerable opposition, to open up the country again.
"Sadly it did not prove to be irreversible, as I wished, and believe you did too.
"I hope we can get back on track soon and not be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere."
In his reply, Mr Johnson did not address the critical elements of the letter, but said the now former minister should be "immensely proud of your historic service to this government and this country".
Northern Ireland Protocol
Lord Frost had most recently been engaged in negotiations with the EU over post-Brexit arrangements.
This included elements of the Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed by the UK and EU in 2019, that allows goods to cross the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without checks.
The protocol has been criticised by some businesses for making it more difficult to send goods to Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who has been a long standing critic of the agreement, said the resignation raised questions about the UK's approach to the protocol.
He said Mr Johnson "must now urgently decide which is more important - the protocol or the stability of the political institutions".
Northern Ireland's deputy first minister, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, said momentum was needed in negotiations to make the protocol work better.
"The North will not be collateral damage in the Tory chaos," she added.
Who will replace UK's combative negotiator?
Lord Frost is seen as a combative figure in Brussels. Many on the EU side won't miss him.
His departure is also likely to strengthen the European Commission's hand in negotiations about the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Lord Frost's fingerprints were all over the UK's original demands and approach. What's the British position now and who's in charge?
In recent weeks, there has been a shift in tone from the UK side. The continued assertion, that the UK might suspend parts of the Protocol through what is known as Article 16, became less… well, assertive.
Lord Frost's overall stance appeared to be undermined by comments coming from ministers and officials.
So the UK's Brexit position appeared to be softening, but in ways that sometimes seemed out of the Brexit Minister's hands.
While Lord Frost is said to have been unhappy with the broader political direction of Boris Johnson's government, the recent developments on Brexit talks should not be ignored.
Now the big question, who'll be his successor?
Backbench Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said Mr Johnson was "running out of time and out of friends to deliver on the promises and discipline of a true Conservative government".
"Lord Frost has made it clear, 100 Conservative backbenchers have made it clear, but most importantly so did the people of North Shropshire," he wrote on Twitter.
Conservative MP Simon Hoare, who chairs the Commons Northern Ireland select committee, said Lord Frost was "unsuited to the 'doing of politics'" and "never understood the need for personal rapport or the importance of trust".
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said the resignation suggested the government was "in total chaos right when the country faces an uncertain few weeks".
What is the latest on post-Brexit talks?
Lord Frost had recently been locked in tense rounds of talks with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic as the UK and the EU attempt to close gaps in post-Brexit arrangements.
On Friday, the UK government indicated the European Court of Justice could have a role in the Northern Ireland Protocol - a deal agreed between the UK and EU in 2019.
That could mean the court ruling on issues of EU law, but not having the final say in disputes over the protocol.
Indicating his frustration in a statement on Friday, Lord Frost said there had been some progress over solutions to outstanding issues "but not as much, and not as quickly as we had hoped".
In what Lord Frost described as the "main area of progress", the EU has said medicines will continue to be available in Northern Ireland at the same time as in the rest of the UK.
But he added: "Overall, with the potential exception of medicines, I do not believe that the negotiations are yet close to delivering outcomes which can genuinely solve the problems presented by the Protocol."
He concluded by saying it was disappointing that a comprehensive or worthwhile agreement with the EU had not yet been reached and that a "solution needs to be found urgently early next year".
Lord Frost's reference to "coercive measures" to control the spread of coronavirus came after a further 10,000 new cases of the Omicron variant were confirmed in the UK.
Another 90,418 daily Covid cases were reported across the UK on Saturday - following days of record highs.
Scientific advisers have warned England's hospital admissions could reach 3,000 a day without further restrictions.
Ministers received a briefing on the latest Covid data on Saturday afternoon - with a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee due to be held this weekend.
