Boris Johnson resigns UK government, becoming second minister who quits over Brexit

LONDON - Associated Press

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.

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..."

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.

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.

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."