British Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet in chaos as ministers resign over terms of EU divorce deal
- Resignations come as terms of draft withdrawal agreement set to be presented to the House of Commons
- European Council President Donald Tusk announced he will host a summit to sign the accord in Brussels on November 25
British Prime Minister Theresa May battled for political survival on Thursday as she tried to defend her draft Brexit deal before a hostile parliament after a string of ministers quit.
May insisted that her proposed EU withdrawal agreement was the best deal Britain could hope to strike when it leaves the European Union on March 29, warning that the only alternatives were leaving with no deal or not leaving at all.
But members of parliament on all sides told her that there was no way it could pass their approval, with arch-Brexiteers and EU loyalists alike insisting it was already sunk.
Amid the political turmoil, the pound plunged on currency markets.
May went into battle after Dominic Raab resigned as the Brexit secretary over the draft deal, while a second cabinet minister and two junior government ministers also walked out.
She faced a barrage of exceptionally hostile questions from MPs – not only from the opposition but from her own Conservative backbenchers.
“If we get behind a deal, we can bring our country back together and seize the opportunities that lie ahead,” May told lawmakers.