Theresa May sidelines new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and announces she will take personal control of negotiations

Mrs May said she would be taking control of the negotiations from now on
AP
Chloe Chaplain24 July 2018
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Theresa May has announced she is taking personal control of EU negotiations in what has been described as a “demotion” for the new Brexit secretary.

The Prime Minster informed Parliament that she will lead the process and new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab will be "deputising" on her behalf.

She announced the change in organisation following several weeks of chaos surrounding the negotiations over the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

The row saw the resignation of both Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis, who was replaced by Raab.

Demoted: new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab
PA

Mrs May said on Tuesday that the Europe Unit – led by Olly Robbins in the Cabinet Office which reports direct to the Prime Minister – will have "overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations", drawing on support from Mr Raab's Department for Exiting the EU, she said.

In a statement in Parliament shortly after being appointed as David Davis's replacement earlier this month, Mr Raab made clear he accepted his role as the PM's deputy in negotiations with Brussels.

Asked whether he would be "calling the shots" in his new job, the Brexit Secretary told the House of Commons last week: "No, it is the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

"I will be deputising for the Prime Minister in the negotiations."

In a written statement to the Commons, Mrs May spelt out how the change to operations will work.

"DExEU will continue to lead on all of the Government's preparations for Brexit: domestic preparations in both a deal and a no-deal scenario, all of the necessary legislation, and preparations for the negotiations to implement the detail of the Future Framework.

"I will lead the negotiations with the European Union, with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union deputising on my behalf.

Mrs May has been under intense pressure 
Getty Images

"Both of us will be supported by the Cabinet Office Europe Unit and with this in mind the Europe Unit will have overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations, drawing upon support from DExEU and other departments as required.

"A number of staff will transfer from DExEU to the Cabinet Office to deliver that."

Mrs May said that DExEU will recruit some new staff to work on preparations for Brexit, while a number of Cabinet Office officials will move over to the department.

There will be no net reduction to staff numbers in Mr Raab's department, she said.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, a supporter of the Best for Britain campaign for a second referendum, said: "It's a demotion for Dominic Raab - we can all see that.

"The Prime Minister has shown how wafer-thin her confidence in the new DExEU minister is, launching a desperate attempt to take back control, two years late.

"We know DExEU is a huge waste of money. Now we're going to be wasting money on a whole department to prepare for the increasingly likely no-deal nightmare.

"Let's scrap all of this rubbish and concentrate on safeguarding jobs, our public services and the future prosperity of this country.

"We need a people's vote with the option to stay in the EU."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in