LONDON: British science and universities minister, Sam Gyimah, quit Prime Minister Theresa May's government on Friday, the sixth minister to resign in protest of her proposed Brexit deal with the European Union.

Gyimah, a junior-ranking minister who campaigned in the 2016 vote to keep Britain in the EU, said May's deal meant Britain would surrender its "voice and its veto" and that the prime minister should not rule out the prospect of a second referendum.

His resignation represents a further blow to May, who is trying to persuade her own lawmakers to approve the deal she struck with Brussels on Sunday.

May faces criticism from all sides including the Northern Irish party propping up her government, ahead of Britain's departure from the EU in four months.

"It has become increasingly clear to me that the proposed deal is not in the British national interest, and that to vote for this deal is to set ourselves up for failure," Gyimah wrote in a resignation statement published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper. "We will be losing, not taking control of our national destiny."

Gyimah did applaud the "grit and determination" of May, who is in Buenos Aires attending a Group of 20 summit.

Earlier on Friday, May conceded that Britain will not use the EU's Galileo space project for defence or critical national infrastructure, following a row over the post-Brexit future of the planned rival to the U.S. Global Positioning System.

"Galileo is only a foretaste of what's to come under the government's Brexit deal," Gyimah said in his statement. </s> The universities minister, Sam Gyimah, has resigned in protest at the prime minister’s Brexit plan and pledged to vote against the agreement in parliament. On Friday, he became the seventh minister to quit Theresa May’s government over the issue.

Gyimah said the deal on offer would mean the UK lost its voice in the European Union, while still having to abide by the bloc’s rules.

“In these protracted negotiations, our interests will be repeatedly and permanently hammered by the EU27 for many years to come. Britain will end up worse off, transformed from rule makers into rule takers,” he wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph.

Sam Gyimah: rising Conservative star who quit over Brexit Read more

“It has become increasingly clear to me that the proposed deal is not in the British national interest, and that to vote for this deal is to set ourselves up for failure. We will be losing, not taking control of our national destiny.”

And the Conservative MP for East Surrey, who voted to remain in the EU, said May should not rule out holding a second referendum.

Sam Gyimah MP (@SamGyimah) After careful reflection, I will not be supporting the Government on the EU Withdrawal Agreement. As such, I have tended my resignation as Universities & Science Minister – read more on my Facebook page: https://t.co/EFQrBjkJZG

The resignation is a fresh blow to the prime minister, who has been trying to get on the front foot in the fight to force her deal through parliament on 11 December.

The Democratic Unionist party, which struck a confidence and supply deal with the Tories after the last election and upon whom May relies heavily, has already indicated it would not support her plan. And many of her own MPs, as well as the Labour party, do not back it either.

Gyimah’s resignation triggered an outpouring of support from Tory remainers, including two former ministers, who highlighted his suggestion that a second referendum was an idea worth considering now May’s deal had been made public.

Jo Johnson, who quit from his job as rail minister over Brexit earlier this month, said Gyimah’s resignation was “strong and principled” and welcomed his openness to “giving the public the final say”.

The former education secretary and leading supporter of the campaign for a second referendum Justine Greening said: “Like many MPs he has recognised the huge shortcomings of the prime minister’s deal and the need to find an alternative path forward for Britain.”

She was backed by the Lib Dems’ education spokesperson, Layla Moran, who said Gyimah’s resignation was yet more evidence the prime minister did not have the support of parliament. “The list of Tory rebels for May’s deal gets longer and longer and she is now searching for a new universities minister as well as votes. This government is falling apart and the decision must be taken back to the public.”

Earlier this week, Gyimah was spotted at a breakfast meeting in Westminster with Johnson and the soft Brexit-supporting ministers, Greg Clark, David Gauke and Margot James, prompting speculation about plotting by those on the left of the party.

With speculation about further resignations swirling on Friday night, James swiftly declared she was not going to quit, saying: “I fully intend to support the deal the PM is putting to parliament on 11 December.”

Gyimah is likely to join the People’s Vote second referendum campaign, after talking to Johnson and Greening in the run up to his departure. But, with the ink barely dry on his resignation letter, he has yet to decide precisely what he intends to do.

Chief among his concerns was the protracted negotiations over Galileo, the EU’s strategic satellite navigation system. The government has said UK defence and security services would no longer participate after Brexit and it emerged on Friday that the country may never claw back £1.2bn it had already invested.

Gyimah said the prime minister was right to withdraw from the negotiation, which he said was “stacked against us from the very beginning”. But he added: “Galileo is only a foretaste of what’s to come under the government’s Brexit deal.”

He wrote: “There is a mountain to climb, and we are still in the foothills. Under the deal we will have only two, at most four, years to agree at least five times what has been settled to date.

“With so much left to negotiate, we must take a clear-eyed view on the strength of our position.” Gyimah said the EU had held the cards so far in the negotiations and time was not on the UK’s side. “All of this points to an off-the-shelf deal dictated by the EU that will be materially worse for my constituents in East Surrey than staying in.” </s> The former Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation of Great Britain Sam Gyimah

The former Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation of Great Britain Sam Gyimah

ANOTHER MEMBER OF Theresa May’s government has resigned, after universities and science minister Sam Gyimah stepped down last night over what he said was the Prime Minister’s “naive” Brexit plan.

He becomes the seventh member of May’s government to quit since she brought back the draft Withdrawal Agreement from Brussels last month.

Gyimah, who voted to remain in the EU, said the deal was “not in the British national interest” and argued that voting for it would set Britain “up for failure”.

“Britain will end up worse off, transformed from rule makers into rule takers,” he wrote on Facebook.

“It is a democratic deficit and a loss of sovereignty the public will rightly never accept,” he added.

He did not rule out the possibility of supporting a second referendum, saying “we shouldn’t dismiss out of hand the idea of asking the people again what future they want”.

Gyimah said Britain’s exclusion from the EU’s Galileo programme because of Brexit was a “clarion call”, saying it was “only a foretaste of what’s to come” in negotiating a future relationship with the bloc.

“I have seen first-hand the EU stack the deck against us time and time again,” he said.

Britain in June revealed that it had been formally excluded from future contracts for the programme, intended for commercial uses such as logistics as well as for armed forces and emergency services.

Brussels has said it will deny London access to Galileo’s encrypted signals after Britain’s EU departure next year, despite its estimated £1.2 billion (€1.3 billion) investment.

May has said Britain would look to build its own system.

Gyimah, a former aide to prime minister David Cameron, praised May’s “grit and determination”, but his resignation highlights the daunting task of getting the deal through parliament.

Both Remainers and Brexiteers in her own party have vowed see it defeated in a crucial vote on 11 December. </s> Universities minister Sam Gyimah is the seventh minister to quit since Theresa May presented her Brexit agreement two weeks ago.

The East Surrey MP, 42, resignation is another blow to the prime minister hopes of getting the deal through the House of Commons.

It follows the resignation of Brexit minister Dominic Raab earlier this month, after his predecessor David Davis left to rally against the Chequers agreement.

On Facebook, Mr Gyimah said he could not support an agreement which would hand sovereignty to Brussels, leaving Britain ‘poorer, less secure and weaker in the pursuit of our national interests’.

Mr Gyimah said that if MPs were to support the agreement it would ‘set ourselves up for failure’ by surrendering ‘our voice, our vote and our veto’.

With a number of Tory MPs now publicly opposed to the deal, his departure highlighted the scale of the task the May faces if she is to win the crunch vote in the Commons on December 11.

He added in his article: ‘Britain will end up worse off, transformed from rule makers into rule takers. It is a democratic deficit and a loss of sovereignty the public will rightly never accept.

‘It has become increasingly clear to me that the proposed deal is not in the British national interest, and that to vote for this deal is to set ourselves up for failure. We will be losing, not taking control of our national destiny.’

Downing Street confirmed that his letter had been received and said there would be a response ‘in due course’.

Mr Gyimah’s announcement came as Mrs May disclosed she had given up efforts to gain access to the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system for defence and critical national infrastructure purposes, after being frozen out by Brussels because of Brexit.

She confirmed the UK would instead aim to build its own Global Navigation Satellite System, at a cost estimated by independent experts at £3-5 billion.

She said: ‘Given the Commission’s decision to bar the UK from being fully involved in developing all aspects of Galileo, it is only right that we find alternatives.’

Mr Gyimah was added to the Conservative party A-List and selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for East Surrey in 2010 following the retirement of Peter Ainsworth.

He took the seat with a 17,000 vote majority and had only been in Westminster for two years when he was made parliamentary private secretary to then Prime Minister David Cameron.

But he pushed for a bigger role in Government, becoming a whip in 2013 and childcare minister in 2014.

Further promotions to prisons minister and his most-recent role as universities minister followed. </s> May faces more Brexit woes after UK minister quits

LONDON (AP) — The latest minister to quit British Prime Minister Theresa May's government because of Brexit says the prime minister's divorce deal with the bloc would leave Britain outnumbered and outmaneuvered in future negotiations.

Ex-Universities and Science Minister Sam Gyimah likens the agreement to a soccer match where the opposing team is the both referee and rule-maker.

The agreement endorsed by EU leaders last weekend includes the legally binding terms of the U.K.'s departure and an ambitious but vague declaration on future relations.

Gyimah said Saturday that the agreement was "a deal in name only. We've got a wish-list of aspirations that we intend to negotiate with the EU (after) we've lost our voice, our veto and our vote."

Britain's Parliament is due to vote on the accord Dec. 11. </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.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May is under pressure to resign after a backlash to her final Brexit gambit and has agreed to meet the chairman of her Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee on Friday to discuss her future.

Below are Conservatives who have either said they plan to put themselves forward or are widely expected to run for the leadership:

The face of the official campaign to leave the European Union, Johnson resigned as foreign minister in July in protest at May’s handling of the exit negotiations.

Johnson set out his pitch to the membership in a speech at the party’s annual conference in October - some members queued for hours to get a seat. He called on the party to return to its traditional values of low tax and strong policing.

Last week the BBC reported he had told The British Insurance Brokers’ Association: “Of course I’m going to go for it.”

He is the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed May.

The pro-Brexit former television presenter, who resigned as work and pensions minister in November in protest at May’s exit deal with the EU, has said she plans to run.

McVey told Talkradio: “I have always said quite clearly that if I got enough support from my colleagues, yes I would (run). Now people have come forward and I have got that support, so I will be going forward.”

A former diplomat who once walked 6,000 miles across Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal, Stewart was promoted to International Development Secretary this month.

Educated at the exclusive Eton College, Stewart was first elected to parliament in 2010 and backed remaining in the EU in the 2016 referendum. He opposes a ‘no deal’ exit and has been a vocal advocate of May’s deal with Brussels.

“I do want to bring this country together ... I accept Brexit, I am a Brexiteer, but I want to reach out to ‘Remain’ voters as well,” he told the BBC.

Gove, one of the highest-profile Brexit campaigners during the 2016 referendum, has had to rebuild his cabinet career after falling early to May in the contest to replace David Cameron, who resigned the day after losing the referendum.

Seen as one of the most effective members of cabinet in bringing forward new policies, the high-energy environment minister has become a surprise ally to May and has backed her Brexit strategy.

Gove teamed up with Johnson during the 2016 Brexit campaign only to pull his support for Johnson’s subsequent leadership bid at the last moment and run himself.

He has not yet said whether he plans to run.

Hunt replaced Johnson as foreign minister in July and has urged the Conservative membership to set aside their differences over Brexit and unite against a common foe - the EU.

Hunt voted to remain in the EU in the referendum. He served six years as Britain’s health minister, a role that has made him unpopular with many voters who work in or rely on the state-run, financially stretched National Health Service.

Asked at a lunch with journalists in parliament if he planned to run for leader, he said: “Wait and see.”

A pro-Brexit campaigner, Leadsom made it to the last two in the 2016 contest to replace Cameron. She withdrew after a backlash to an interview in which she said being a mother gave her more of a stake in the future of the country than her rival Theresa May.

Leadsom quit as Leader of the House of Commons on Wednesday, saying she did not believe the government’s approach would deliver on the Brexit referendum result. She has previously told broadcaster ITV she was “seriously considering standing” to replace May.

Raab quit as May’s Brexit minister last year in protest at her draft exit agreement saying it did not match the promises the Conservative Party made in the 2017 election. Raab served only five months as head of the Brexit department.

He had held junior ministerial roles since being elected in 2010. Raab, a black belt in karate, campaigned for Brexit.

Asked if he would like to be prime minister, he said: “Never say never.”

Javid, a former banker and a champion of free markets, has served a number of cabinet roles and scores consistently well in polls of party members. A second-generation immigrant of Pakistani heritage, he has a portrait of late Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher on his office wall.

Javid voted ‘Remain’ in the 2016 referendum but was previously considered to be eurosceptic. He has not said whether he plans to run but is considered to have been setting out his stall in speeches and media interviews.

Davis, a leading eurosceptic, was appointed Brexit minister to lead negotiations with the EU in July 2016 but resigned two years later in protest at May’s plans for a long-term relationship with the bloc.

He ran for the party’s leadership in 2005 but lost to Cameron.

Mordaunt is one of the last remaining pro-Brexit members of May’s cabinet. She became Britain’s first female defence secretary this month.

A Royal Navy reservist, Mordaunt was previously international development minister. Many had expected her to join the wave of resignations that followed the publication of May’s draft withdrawal deal.

Rudd resigned as interior minister last year after facing outrage over her department’s treatment of some long-term Caribbean residents wrongly labelled illegal immigrants.

She backed ‘Remain’ in 2016 and has opposed a ‘no deal’ exit, meaning she could win support from pro-EU Conservative lawmakers. But she struggled to retain her seat at the 2017 election and has one of the smallest majorities in parliament.

Health minister Hancock, a former economist at the Bank of England, supported ‘Remain’ in 2016. First elected to parliament in 2010, he has held several ministerial roles.

The former education minister told ITV she would consider running. Greening supports a second Brexit referendum. Many thought she might join several of her colleagues in quitting the party to form a pro-EU group in parliament earlier this year.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Truss has held several roles in government including environment minister and justice minister. She backed ‘Remain’ in 2016 but has said she has since changed her mind on Brexit.

Brady is chair of the 1922 Committee of Conservative lawmakers. “It would take an awful lot of people to persuade me. I’m not sure many people are straining at the leash to take on what is an extraordinarily difficult situation,” he told BBC Radio.

A former deputy mayor of London, Malthouse became a Member of Parliament in 2015. He is a junior housing minister and helped author the so-called Malthouse Compromise plan to replace the unpopular Irish backstop in Britain’s EU exit deal with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border.

The Sun newspaper reported he was setting up a campaign team.

Cleverly was appointed a junior Brexit minister last month, having previously been deputy chair of the Conservative Party. He had a career in publishing before being elected to parliament in 2015.

The Sun reported he was planning to run for leader. </s> (LONDON) — 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.
Sam Gyimah resigns as British Minister of State for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in protest to Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal deal.