LONDON (REUTERS) - British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Stephen Barclay, a junior health minister who voted to leave the European Union in a 2016 referendum, as her new Brexit Secretary on Friday (Nov 16).

May herself will personally oversee the last 10 days of negotiations with the EU on the future framework of relations, while Barclay will focus on the domestic readiness for Brexit and getting May's draft withdrawal agreement through parliament.

"He will be doing the domestic role," May's spokesman said.

Barclay replaced Dominic Raab who quit as Brexit minister on Thursday over the draft plan for leaving the EU.

Elsewhere, former interior minister Amber Rudd was appointed as work and pensions minister, replacing Esther McVey who also resigned over the plan.

Barclay, a 46-year-old former banker, was previously a financial services minister.

He qualified as a solicitor before working in financial regulation and then financial crime prevention. He was director of regulatory affairs and then head of anti-money laundering and sanctions at Barclays bank. </s> LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Stephen Barclay, a junior health minister who voted to leave the European Union in a 2016 referendum, as her new Brexit Secretary on Friday.

May herself will personally oversee the last 10 days of negotiations with the EU on the future framework of relations, while Barclay will focus on the domestic readiness for Brexit and getting May’s draft withdrawal agreement through parliament.

“He will be doing the domestic role,” May’s spokesman said.

Barclay replaced Dominic Raab who quit as Brexit minister on Thursday over the draft plan for leaving the EU.

Elsewhere, former interior minister Amber Rudd was appointed as work and pensions minister, replacing Esther McVey who also resigned over the plan.

Barclay, a 46-year-old former banker, was previously a financial services minister.

He qualified as a solicitor before working in financial regulation and then financial crime prevention. He was director of regulatory affairs and then head of anti-money laundering and sanctions at Barclays bank. </s> Amber Rudd is back in cabinet as the new work and pensions secretary after Esther McVey resigned yesterday, according to Downing Street.

Former home secretary Rudd is set to replace McVey after she walked out in protest over Theresa May’s Brexit agreement.

Downing Street said: ‘The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP to be Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’.

Rudd stepped down as home secretary in April over her handling of the Windrush generation scandal.

She had faced growing pressure to resign amid claims she misled parliament over targets for removing illegal migrants.

Mcvey quit in response to the EU withdrawal plan agreed by UK and EU negotiators.

In a resignation letter, McVey wrote: ‘The deal you put before the cabinet yesterday does not honour the result of the referendum.

‘Indeed, it doesn’t meet the tests you set from the outset of your premiership.’

She added: ‘It threatens the integrity of the United Kingdom, which as a unionist is a risk I cannot be party to.’

Rudd is the sixth work and pensions secretary.

This is a breaking new story… more to follow </s> After the resignations of Dominic Raab and Esther McVey, Theresa May is looking to shore up her top team. Amber Rudd is back in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions after 201 days on the backbenches. Brexiteer out, Remainer in…

There have now been 14 work and pensions secretaries since the department was created in 2001, and a whopping six since March 2016.

In September Rudd came out to say a second referendum is preferable to a no deal Brexit. Cabinet could get choppy. </s> Stephen Barclay has been appointed as the new Brexit secretary – but the job has been downgraded to a “domestic” role, Downing Street has confirmed.

A No 10 spokesman said that Barclay, who backed leaving the EU, will focus on how prepared the UK is for exiting the bloc, while the prime minister takes charge of the “endgame” negotiations with EU leaders.

The shift is likely to rile Brexiteers who are demanding changes to the draft Withdrawal Agreement published on Thursday.

Kwasi Kwarteng, formerly parliamentary private secretary to Chancellor Philip Hammond, will be promoted to Brexit minister.

Barclay replaces Dominic Raab, who resigned on Thursday in protest of Theresa May’s draft deal.

It comes as backbench MPs were submitting letters to the party’s 1922 committee demanding a no confidence in the prime minister.

Barclay, the MP for North East Cambridgeshire, will be expected to sell the deal to UK businesses, voters and skeptical MPs who will play a key role in getting legislation through parliament.

Previously, Barclay was a Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care and was an Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

He also served as a whip under David Cameron.

During the final days of talks, May is hoping to flesh out the political declaration on the UK-EU future relationship – something she hopes will make a final Brexit deal more palatable to MPs, a majority of whom look set to vote it down when it comes before Parliament later this year.

The Withdrawal Agreement, which includes the controversial Northern Ireland backstop customs arrangement, would not be on the table during the remaining talks.

The No 10 spokesman said: “[Stephen Barclay] will be dealing with the domestic preparedness for Brexit. In terms of the negotiations, we are in the endgame now with ten days left, the prime minister will be doing those negotiations.”

MPs will vote on the Brexit deal in early December, before a European Council summit is due to take place on December 13 in Brussels.

Barclay, a qualified solicitor, held numerous roles in business before becoming an MP, including legal work for Axa Insurance, as a regulator for the Financial Services Authority and within the anti-money laundering department of Barclays Bank.

The announcement was made just shortly after it was revealed Amber Rudd had been appointed Work and Pensions Secretary.

Stephen Hammond replaces Barclay as health and social care minister and John Penrose will become Northern Ireland minister. </s> Forty-eight letters are needed to trigger a vote, and Leading euroskeptic Steve Baker said on Friday he believes the threshold has been reached. But the only person who knows the accurate count is Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives, and there's been no announcement from him. The latest tally of Tories who have announced they've sent letters is 22. Am I going to see this through? Yes. In an effort to seize control of the political agenda, May on Friday named a junior official, Stephen Barclay, as her new Brexit Secretary after Dominic Raab quit the role a day earlier. And she brought former home secretary Amber Rudd, one of the stalwarts of the Remain campaign in the 2016 referendum, back into the cabinet to replace Esther McVey, the Brexit supporter who quit on Thursday as Work and Pensions Secretary. Crucially, May stripped the Brexit post of responsibility for the negotiations with the EU. Instead, Barclay – who supported Leave in 2016 – will focus on the domestic legislation to prepare Britain for its scheduled departure in March.

She also promoted Stephen Hammond, a fervent pro-European who has voted against the government in a bid to maintain closer ties with the bloc. The appointments took place against the unprecedented backdrop of five cabinet ministers plotting to overhaul the agreement May has secured with the bloc. Andrea Leadsom, who is convening the group, Liam Fox, Chris Grayling, Penny Mordaunt and Michael Gove are trying to draft an alternative plan that they can support and so stay in the government, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. Leadsom, Mordaunt and Gove were all strongly touted to resign and join the seven members of May's administration who quit their posts yesterday. But instead, they've remained in the cabinet, for now, to try and secure the changes they want to Britain's Brexit strategy from within the government. They will struggle to make a difference, as the EU has all but closed the door on any changes. May is sticking resolutely to her strategy in the face of widespread hostility from opposition parties, her supposed allies in Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, and members of her own Conservatives. She took three hours of questions in the House of Commons on Thursday in a session that made it clear she'll struggle to secure the approval she needs from the chamber. If she fails, the risk is that Britain tumbles out of the bloc in March without any agreement to smooth the process.

Brexiteers loathe the 585-page withdrawal deal as it looks set to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU even after a 21-month planned transition period. Under the plan – a "backstop" to protect the peace process in Northern Ireland and ensure the border remains open with Ireland – Britain would have to heed EU competition and state aid rules, without any say over how they are set. Moreover, the country wouldn't be able to unilaterally pull out of the arrangement. That, say Brexiteers, is worse than EU membership and would make Britain a "vassal" state, in perpetual limbo and unable to escape the bloc's influence. The Confederation of British Industry threw its weight behind the prime minister's strategy and issued a warning on Friday to lawmakers who oppose it. The risk of no deal is already causing economic harm as companies of all sizes stockpile goods and components and move jobs and investment out of Britain, it said. "Despite the political noise at Westminster, the real life implications for people and regions across the U.K. are what really matter," according to the CBI. "Compromising is essential to avoid a damaging no deal and move on to the future. For the sake of the prosperity of our country, we must not go backwards."

It's been the most dangerous week yet for the PM, and she's had many. May has doggedly weathered all the storms so far, and she told journalists late on Thursday she wouldn't quit without a fight. "Am I going to see this through? Yes." But she's not out of the woods. There could yet be more letters calling for her to go, and even if she survives a leadership challenge, she still has to work out how to get her deal through Parliament. </s> Conservative lawmaker Dominic Raab arrives at 10 Downing Street, London, Wednesday, July 24, 2019. Boris Johnson has replaced Theresa May as Prime Minister, following her resignation last month after Parliament repeatedly rejected the Brexit withdrawal agreement she struck with the European Union. Johnson seems to be clearing out top ministers, firing several members of former leader Theresa May’s Cabinet. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

LONDON (AP) — The latest on Boris Johnson officially becoming Britain’s new prime minister (all times local):

Australia’s prime minister has congratulated Boris Johnson and hopes to ink one of Britain’s first bilateral trade deals after Brexit.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday he and Johnson are both looking forward to meeting at the Group of 7 summit in France next month and to “moving very quickly, when the opportunity presents” to reach a trade deal.

Morrison told reporters that “this is a time of change for the United Kingdom” and Johnson “will bring a new opportunity … to resolve what had been some very difficult issues.”

Morrison says it is in the interests of the “broader global economy” that Britain and Europe resolve outstanding Brexit issues.

Dominic Raab has been named Britain’s foreign secretary, the country’s top diplomat and one of the most senior roles in government.

Raab was appointed as new Prime Minister Boris Johnson assembles a Cabinet he hopes can help him deliver Brexit. Raab is a former Brexit secretary and a staunch supporter of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay is keeping his job in the government shakeup.

Michael Gove, who ran the 2016 campaign to leave the EU alongside Johnson before the pair fell out, was named Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a powerful Cabinet post with no specific portfolio.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed Sajid Javid the country’s new Treasury chief, one of the most senior jobs in Cabinet.

Javid will be responsible for spending and economic policy in Johnson’s government.

Javid, a former banker and ex-home secretary, is the first ethnic minority politician to hold the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Johnson is forming his Cabinet after taking office on Wednesday. He has cleared out many of the ministers who served under predecessor Theresa May. More than half have either quit or been fired.

Jeremy Hunt says he’s leaving the job of foreign secretary as new Prime Minister Boris Johnson sweeps into office with a fresh team at the top.

Hunt’s position had been closely watched. He had challenged Johnson for the job of Conservative leader, and says he wanted to stay on as foreign secretary. But Hunt says Johnson offered another role.

Hunt tweeted that “after 9 yrs in Cabinet & over 300 cab mtgs now is the time to return 2 backbenches from where PM will have my full support.”

Former Prime Minister Theresa May’s secretaries in defense, business, education, transport, local government and international trade have all announced they are leaving the government. Treasury chief Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and May’s de-facto deputy, David Lidington, resigned.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson seems to be clearing out top ministers, firing several members of former leader Theresa May’s Cabinet.

So far, May’s secretaries in defense, business, education, transport, local government and international trade have all announced they are leaving government. That comes hours after Treasury chief Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and May’s de-facto deputy, David Lidington, resigned.

Some of those leaving had said they would rather go than serve under Johnson, who wants to leave the European Union even if no Brexit agreement is in place to ease the transition. Johnson insists the country will leave the EU by Oct. 31 — “do or die.”

However many British lawmakers, including some in Johnson’s Conservative party, worry that the shock of severing decades of frictionless trade would devastate the country’s economy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she wishes new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson much luck and success and is looking forward to “good cooperation and further deepening of our bilateral relations.”

Merkel said in a statement Wednesday that the relationship of Germany and Britain is “shaped by deep friendship and close partnership.”

She wrote “we’re connected by personal relations of people, economic ties between companies, our united engagement for a rule-based international order as well as our common European heritage.”

Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed the U.K. will leave the European Union on Oct. 31 — “no ifs, ands or buts.”

Speaking just moments after Queen Elizabeth II asked him to form a government Wednesday, Johnson sought to persuade the public to back him — saying that the time has come to act on the nation’s departure from the European Union.

In his first speech as leader outside 10 Downing Street, Johnson says “he will get ‘a new deal, a better deal’ from the EU on Brexit.

He added that while there will be difficulties, much of the nation’s confidence has been sapped by the refusal to take action.

Johnson left Buckingham Palace after being appointed by Queen Elizabeth II. The palace confirmed that Johnson had been appointed “as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury,” another of the British leader’s titles.

He visited the palace to meet with the monarch Wednesday after predecessor Theresa May resigned, failing to secure parliamentary approval for her deal to leave the European Union.

Johnson is going to 10 Downing St. to start work on forming his new administration.

Greenpeace climate protesters have interrupted the motorcade of Boris Johnson as he was traveling to Buckingham Palace to meet with Queen Elizabeth II to get the nod to form a government.

Demonstrators in red shirts and sashes formed a human chain on The Mall, a road leading to the palace, prompting a police officer on a motorcycle to stop just in front of them. Other demonstrators unfurled a banner reading “Climate Emergency.”

The chain was broken when another officer came up from behind and pushed the demonstrators to the side of the road.

Greenpeace said in a statement that U.K. Executive Director John Sauven attempted to hand Johnson Greenpeace’s 134 point Climate Emergency manifesto, which detailed “the wide-ranging policies the new administration must implement to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown.”

Buckingham Palace says that Theresa May has tendered her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, clearing the way for Boris Johnson to become the new prime minister of the United Kingdom.

The monarch accepted, setting in train the handover of power.

Johnson arrived at the palace a short time later on Wednesday, having been briefly interrupted by climate protesters who formed a human chain attempting to stop his motorcade.

Theresa May has left 10 Downing St. for the final time as prime minister and is heading for Buckingham Palace to resign.

In a formal handover of power, May will ask Queen Elizabeth II to invite her successor Boris Johnson to form a government. Johnson will then visit the palace, and leave as Britain’s new prime minister.

May is stepping down after failing to secure lawmakers’ support for a Brexit deal and lead Britain out of the European Union.

In a final speech outside 10 Downing St. with husband Philip by her side, May said it had been “the greatest honor” to serve as Britain’s prime minister.

And she said “I hope that every young girl who has seen a woman prime minister now knows for sure there are no limits to what they can achieve.”

Senior members of Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, including her Treasury chief Philip Hammond, are resigning just hours before Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson succeeds her.

The departures clear the way for Johnson to appoint a raft of fresh faces to his government.

Justice Secretary David Gauke and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart have also resigned.

The three had previously announced they would rather leave rather than serve Johnson, who wants to leave the European Union even if no agreement is in place to ease the transition to a new relationship between Britain and the bloc. He insists that the country will leave the EU by Oct. 31 — “do or die.”

Many lawmakers worry the shock of severing decades of frictionless trade would devastate the country’s economy.

David Lidington, effectively May’s deputy prime minister, also resigned, saying it was “the right moment.” to go. He had not previously pre-announced his departure.

A Russian Foreign Ministry official says no immediate changes in relations with Britain are expected upon Boris Johnson becoming Britain’s new prime minister.

Andrei Kelin, head of the ministry’s European cooperation department, said Wednesday that “I don’t think that something will change in the near future, because Boris Johnson belongs to the team that has spoiled these relations for quite a long time.”

Moscow-London relations have plummeted since the nerve agent poisoning of a Russian former double agent and his daughter in the town of Salisbury last year. Britain blames the poisoning on Russian military intelligence.

Prime Minister Theresa May says she’s glad her successor, Boris Johnson, is committed to “delivering on the vote of the people in 2016” to leave the European Union.

May offered muted praise of the incoming leader in her last Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons. She said she was pleased to be handing power to another Conservative leader.

After Wednesday’s question period, May will travel to Buckingham Palace and submit her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II. Johnson, who won a contest to replace her as Conservative leader, will become prime minister later in the day.

May said she would “continue my duties in this House from the back benches” as an ordinary lawmaker.

May shook her head at a suggestion from Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn that she join opposition attempts to stop the “reckless” Johnson, who has vowed to take Britain out of the EU with or without a divorce deal.

The European Parliament is warning new Boris Johnson, who in a few hours is set to become British prime minister, not to count on any renegotiation of the Brexit deal that his predecessor Theresa May negotiated with the EU.

The legislature’s Brexit steering group said in a statement that the statements made by Johnson during his campaign to lead the Conservative Party “have greatly increased the risk of a disorderly exit of the UK.”

It adds that a no-deal exit would be “economically very damaging, even if such damage would not be inflicted equally on both parties.”

The group, including the top Brexit legislators, held talks in a conference call the day after Johnson won the race to succeed May, who is due to quit as prime minister in the next couple of hours.

Johnson has said he would take the UK out of the EU on the Brexit departure date of Oct. 31 “come what may.”

Incoming British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is assembling his top team, with a key job set to go to a controversial figure from the country’s Brexit referendum campaign.

Johnson’s allies say Dominic Cummings, director of the “Vote Leave” campaign in the 2016 referendum, will become a senior adviser to the prime minister.

Cummings has been both praised and criticized for his work as the campaign’s lead strategist. Lawmakers and electoral officials have investigated Vote Leave’s links to the firm Cambridge Analytica, which harvested Facebook users’ data to help political campaigns.

Cummings — who was played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the TV drama “Brexit: The Uncivil War” — was found to be in contempt of Parliament earlier this year for refusing to give evidence to a committee of lawmakers investigating “fake news.”

Boris Johnson is set to form a “cabinet for modern Britain” as he prepares to become prime minister following his victory in an election to lead the governing Conservatives.

The incoming leader has just over three months to make good on his promise to lead the U.K. out of the European Union by Oct. 31.

Johnson easily defeated Conservative rival Jeremy Hunt, winning two-thirds of the votes of about 160,000 party members across the U.K. He becomes prime minister once Queen Elizabeth II formally asks him to form a government.

He will replace Theresa May, who announced her resignation last month after Parliament repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement she struck with the 28-nation bloc.

For more on AP’s Brexit coverage, https://www.apnews.com/Brexit </s> Dominic Raab has sensationally quit as Brexit Secretary, in a massive blow to Theresa May's Brexit plans.

Mr Raab, who only took over in the summer after David Davis resigned in protest over the Prime Minister's withdrawal strategy, said he "cannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EU".

His surprise departure on Thursday came amid a furious backlash from Brexit-backing Tories to the deal agreed by UK and EU negotiators four months ahead of the UK's scheduled withdrawal on March 29.

Hours earlier Shailesh Vara had quit as minister of state for Northern Ireland, saying Mrs May's agreement, "leaves the UK in a halfway house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation".

The list of all those who have resigned over Brexit so far:

Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey has resigned, saying the Brexit deal "does not honour the result of the referendum".

She is the second Cabinet minister to quit this morning after Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab.

The extraordinary move is a calamitous hit to Theresa May that will hugely ramp up the risk of toppling her - and forcing a chaotic No Deal Brexit.

It comes after Ms McVey was reportedly "shouted down" when she tried to register her objection to the deal with a formal vote during last night's Cabinet.

Reports suggested she was left in tears.

Tweeting his letter of resignation, Mr Raab said: "Today, I have resigned as Brexit Secretary. I cannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EU. Here is my letter to the PM explaining my reasons, and my enduring respect for her."

Following the Brexit Secretary's resignation, former Ukip leader Nigel Farage tweeted: "Well done Dominic Raab, a few more and we will be rid of this duplicitous Prime Minister."

Here is Dominic Raab's letter of resignation

It has been an honour to serve in your government as Justice Minister, Housing Minister and Brexit Secretary.

I regret to say that, following the Cabinet meeting yesterday on the Brexit deal. I must resign. I understand why you have chosen to pursue the deal with the EU on the terms proposed, and I respect the different views held in good faith by all of our colleagues.

For my part, I cannot support the proposed deal for two reasons. First I believe that the regulatory regime proposed for Northern Ireland presents a very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom.

Second, I cannot support an indefinite backstop arrangement, where the EU holds a veto over our ability to exit. The terms of the backstop amount to a hybrid of the EU Customs Union and Single Market obligations. No democratic nation has ever signed up to be bound by such an extensive regime, imposed externally without any democratic control over the laws to be applied, nor the ability to decide to exit the arrangement. That arrangement is now also taken as the starting point for negotiating the Future Economic Partnership. If we accept that, it will severely prejudice the second phase of negotiations against the UK.

Above all, I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country in our manifesto at the last election. This is, at its heart, a matter of public trust.

I appreciate that you disagree with my judgment on these issues. I have weighed very carefully the alternative courses of action which the government could take, on which I have previously advised. Ultimately, you deserve a Brexit Secretary who can make the case for the deal you are pursuing with conviction. I am only sorry, in good conscience, that I cannot.

My respect for you and the fortitude you have shown in difficult times, remains undimmed.

Shailesh Vara quit as minister of state for Northern Ireland, saying he cannot support Mrs May's agreement, which he said "leaves the UK in a halfway house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation".

His resignation came as European Council president Donald Tusk announced an extraordinary meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on November 25, at which the withdrawal agreement and a political declaration on future relations will be finalised and formalised.

Mr Vara's departure comes amid a furious backlash from Brexit-backing Tories to the deal agreed by UK and EU negotiators four months ahead of the UK's scheduled withdrawal on March 29.

Westminster was braced for further resignations, amid widespread expectations that the Prime Minister may face a challenge to her position from Conservative MPs submitting letters of no confidence in her leadership.

The Prime Minister cleared the first hurdle when Cabinet ministers finally approved the draft terms of her agreement with Brussels at a stormy five-hour meeting on Wednesday.

But she now faces a battle to get it through Parliament as pro-Leave Conservative MPs - as well as some Remainers - lined up to condemn the plan, accusing her of breaking promises and leaving the UK at the mercy of Brussels.

In a resignation statement, North-West Cambridgeshire MP Mr Vara - who was promoted by Mrs May as recently as July - said: "We are a proud nation and it is a say day when we are reduced to obeying rules made by other countries who have shown that they do not have our best interests at heart.

"We can and must do better than this. The people of the UK deserve better."

Mr Vara, a former Conservative vice chairman who has served as a whip and on the frontbenches for the bulk of his career since entering Parliament in 2005, backed Remain in the 2016 referendum.

Jo Johnson has signalled that more ministers may be poised to quit over Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plans.

Mr Johnson, whose bombshell resignation as transport minister took Westminster by surprise, said if other senior Tories followed suit, "good on them".

Calling for a second referendum to be held on Brexit, Mr Johnson denounced the choice between Mrs May's deal plans or a no-deal scenario as a "failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis" that had left Britain facing "vassalage" or "chaos".

David Davis resigned as Brexit Secretary in a major blow to Theresa May in July.

Mr Davis' exit may embolden Brexiteer backbenchers with concerns about Mrs May's leadership.

The move comes on the eve of a major test for the Prime Minister as she faces first the House of Commons and then a potentially stormy meeting of Tory MPs and peers on Monday.

The long-serving Conservative MP was among the new intake when Tony Blair's new Labour swept to power in 1997.

In the two decades since, the former SAS reservist has become an established figure within the party, challenging David Cameron to a 2005 leadership contest which the younger man went on to win.

He would become a key ally in Theresa May's embattled Cabinet.

The no-nonsense politician revelled in the description of being Britain's "Brexit bulldog", charged with leading negotiations with his EU counterpart over the country's withdrawal from the bloc.

He has been noted by former colleagues for his "tough, resilient" approach.

His role as Brexit Secretary was crucial to ensuring Britain leaves the EU next year with what Mrs May described as the "best possible deal".

Theresa May's long-standing rival Boris Johnson announced he was to quit as Foreign Secretary the day after Mr Davis.

Even before Mr Johnson stood down, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said Theresa May has "no authority left" and called for an election "in the interests of the great majority of people in Scotland".

He said it would be a "change to change course".

"The Prime Minister is in office but not in power," he said. "This is not sustainable.

"The Tory crisis makes a Labour government with Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister a very real possibility."

Minister Steve Baker quit the same day as Mr Davis.

Referring to the Chequers proposal in his resignation letter, he wrote: "I cannot support this policy with the sincerity and resolve which will be necessary".

He quit the government to vote against it on an amendment tabled by Jacob Rees-Mogg.

The Aberconwy MP complained that "the Brexit that is being delivered today could not be further from what was promised".

He backed a so-called People's Vote, a second referendum on the final divorce terms. </s> (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP, File). FILE- In this June 6, 2018 file photo, Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis delivers a speech in London, on Britain's vision for the future security relationship with the EU. Briti...

LONDON (AP) - The Latest on Brexit (all times local):

British Prime Minister Theresa May has named Jeremy Hunt to the job of foreign secretary after the resignation of Boris Johnson.

Hunt, who had been the health secretary, is considered one of May's most loyal ministers.

May's government was rocked Monday by the resignations of Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis. They quit amid divisions in the government over Brexit.

Johnson and Davis advocate a clean break with the European Union, known as "hard Brexit." Hunt, who backed the "remain" side in Britain's 2016 EU membership referendum, favors keeping close economic ties to the bloc after the U.K. leaves next year.

Now-former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has slammed Prime Minister Theresa May in a resignation letter, accusing her of flying "white flags" of surrender in negotiations with the European Union.

Johnson, one of the most vocal and popular proponents of Britain's exit from the European Union, quit as Britain's top diplomat on Monday. His move came hours after Brexit Secretary David Davis also resigned, blowing open divisions over how to leave the EU that threaten to topple May's government.

Johnson said in his letter that May's plan to keep close economic ties with the bloc means the U.K. is heading for a "semi-Brexit" that would leave Britain with the "status of colony" within the EU.

He said: "The Brexit dream is dying, suffocated by needless self-doubt "

May's supporters worry that more ministers could resign, and pro-Brexit lawmakers from her Conservative Party could trigger a no-confidence vote in the prime minister.

The White House says President Donald Trump "continues to look forward to" his meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May this week despite the turmoil that Brexit is creating in her government.

May defended her plan for Britain's exit from the European Union after British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis both resigned.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Monday that "The President continues to look forward to his working visit with the Prime Minister on July 13, and further strengthening the U.S.-U.K. special relationship."

Trump will make his maiden voyage to the U.K. as president following a NATO summit in Brussels and before heading to Helsinki for a summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Theresa May has defended her post-Brexit trade plan that sparked Cabinet resignations, saying it is the only way to avoid a hard border with Ireland.

May told the House of Commons on Monday that her program - which would allow the free movement of goods, but not services - is the "right Brexit " because it would make it possible to avoid checks at the border between the republic and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the U.K.

Lawmakers howled as a beleaguered May paid tribute to two senior members of her Cabinet who resigned rather than accept her proposals.

May said: "What we are proposing is challenging for the EU. It requires them to think again, to look beyond the positions they have taken so far and to agree a new and fair balance of rights and obligations "

Prime Minister Theresa May has paid tribute to two key Cabinet ministers who resigned rather than accept her plan for Britain's departure from the European Union.

May told the House of Commons on Monday that Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson made important contributions to Britain, but did not agree with her about "the best way" of delivering Brexit.

She said: "We do not agree about the best way of delivering our shared commitment to honoring the result of the referendum" voters approved to leave the EU.

Davis resigned as Brexit secretary late Sunday, saying he could not support proposals to maintain close trade and regulatory ties with the EU. Johnson resigned Monday only moments before May spoke.

Top European Union officials say Brexit is becoming a mess for Europe following the resignations of the U.K.'s chief Brexit negotiator and foreign secretary.

Britain's Brexit secretary, David Davis quit late Sunday and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson submitted his resignation on Monday.

European Council President Donald Tusk said Monday that it is unfortunate that the whole "idea of Brexit has not left together with David Davis."

Tusk added: "The mess caused by Brexit is the biggest problem in the history of EU-UK relations and it is still very far from being resolved, with or without Mr. Davis."

Asked about his reaction to Johnson's resignation, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said sarcastically that "this clearly proves that at Chequers, there was unity in the cabinet."

Juncker's remarks were a reference to a 12-hour British Cabinet meeting at Prime Minister Theresa May's country residence on Friday that was supposed to have resolved internal disagreement over Brexit.

The British government says Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has resigned, amid a widening split in the Cabinet over Brexit.

Prime Minister Theresa May's office said May accepted the resignation on Monday and will announce a replacement soon.

A leader of the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union, Johnson was under pressure to act after the resignation of David Davis as Brexit secretary.

Davis quit late Sunday saying he could not support May's plans for close trade and regulatory ties with the bloc after the U.K. leaves the European Union next year.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has not arrived at an international meeting in London, fueling speculation that he plans to resign over differences with Prime Minister Theresa May on Brexit.

Johnson was due to host the Western Balkans Summit on Monday. But German Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth tweeted that by early afternoon "We're still waiting for our host..."

Johnson is scheduled to hold a news conference at the summit later.

A leader of the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union, Johnson is under pressure to act after the resignation of David Davis as Brexit secretary.

Davis quit late Sunday saying he could not support May's plans for close trade and regulatory ties with the bloc after the U.K. leaves the European Union next year.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's office insists the government's plans for leaving the European Union are on track despite the resignation of the top official in the Brexit department.

David Davis resigned as Brexit secretary late Sunday, saying he couldn't support proposals to maintain close trade and regulatory ties with the EU.

Davis was replaced Monday with Dominic Raab, a lawmaker who strongly supports Britain's EU exit.

Davis's resignation shattered a fragile peace in May's government, which is split between supporters of "hard" and "soft" Brexit. Britain is due to leave the EU in March.

May's official spokesman, James Slack, says "we need to move forward at pace in these negotiations, and that's what we are going to do."

He says "there is now a new secretary of state and we look forward to moving on."

The European Union says it will push on with Brexit talks despite the resignation of Britain's chief negotiator, and is ready to work with his replacement.

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas says Monday that "we will continue to negotiate in good will, bona fide, with Prime Minister Theresa May and the UK government negotiators in order to reach a deal."

Asked whether the appointment of Dominic Raab would affect the negotiations, Schinas said it mattered for Britain but not necessarily the EU: "What matters for us is the negotiating framework that our 27 member states have set for us."

He said EU negotiators stand ready to work through the summer if needed to reach an agreement. Britain officially leaves the EU at midnight on March 29 next year.

The German government says it's confident the British government can continue to act on Brexit despite the resignation of the minister tasked with the job of negotiating with the European Union.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Rainer Breul said Monday that while Germany doesn't generally comment on foreign Cabinet reshuffles, "we have no doubt the British side remains capable of acting" on Brexit.

Britain's Brexit minister, David Davis, quit late Sunday, two days after Prime Minister Theresa May announced she had united her quarrelsome government behind a plan for a divorce deal with the EU.

Separately, German government spokeswoman Martina Fietz downplayed talk of discord on Brexit between Chancellor Angela Merkel and her top security official. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer had warned last week of security risks when Britain leaves the EU.

Britain's government has named former Housing Minister Dominic Raab to take up the post of senior official in charge of negotiating the country's exit from the European Union, after his predecessor resigned.

Prime Minister Theresa May's office announced the appointment in a Monday statement. Raab, a Brexit supporter, follows David Davis, who had accused May of undermining Brexit with her plan to keep close trade ties with the bloc.

Davis quit just two days after May announced she had finally united her quarrelsome government behind a plan for a divorce deal with the EU.

The European Parliament's chief Brexit official is urging Britain to look beyond the departure of its chief negotiator and move forward quickly to clinch a deal with the EU.

Guy Verhofstadt said that "it is in the interest of the both that we move the negotiations forward."

Verhofstadt hopes "the UK unites around a position to conclude a broad Association Agreement with the EU."

In a blow to the British government, Davis quit late Sunday, saying he could not support Prime Minister Theresa May's plan for close trade and regulatory ties with the EU after Brexit next year.

His resignation came just two days after May announced she had finally united her quarrelsome government behind a plan for a divorce deal with the EU.

Former Brexit Secretary David Davis says he won't seek to challenge Prime Minister Theresa May's leadership after resigning from her Cabinet, but that he will pressure her to toughen her position on Britain's departure from the European Union.

Davis says he resigned because he didn't feel he best suited to carry the divorce deal forward, telling the BBC Monday that he doesn't want his resignation to become a rallying cry for May's ouster. He says "I like Theresa May, I think she's a good prime minister."

But he says they had a difference of strategy and hoped the decision would send a signal to the EU not to push Britain any further in Brexit negotiations.

Davis's late-night resignation undermined May's already fragile government, which has lost several ministers this year.

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British Prime Minister Theresa May appoints Stephen Barclay as Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and Amber Rudd as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions following yesterday's resignations of Dominic Raab and Esther McVey.