Brexit Minister Lord Frost resigns

Brexit minister Lord Frost has resigned from Boris Johnson’s government.

He led the UK’s negotiations over the EU Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol.

In a letter to Mr Johnson, Lord Frost said that while “Brexit is now secure” he had “concerns about the current direction of travel”.

The Mail on Sunday, which first reported the news, said he handed in his resignation a week ago, partly in disagreement with Covid curbs.

In his letter, Lord Frost, who attended cabinet, said his resignation would take “immediate effect” and spoke of his desire to see a “low-tax” economy.

“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,” he said.

He added that measures to reopen the economy in July “did not prove to be irreversible” – adding: “I hope we can get back on track soon and not be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere.”

Responding to Lord Frost, Mr Johnson said he should be “immensely proud of your historic service to this government and this country”.