British minister Sam Gyimah resigns in protest at Theresa May's Brexit deal

London, December 1: United Kingdom Science minister Sam Gyimah has resigned, saying a row over the involvement in the EU's Galileo satellite-navigation system exposes Theresa May's Brexit deal as "naive".

 

The UK had wanted to stay part of Galileo after Brexit, but the European Union said it would be banned from the extra-secure elements of the programme. PM May confirmed on Friday that the UK was pulling out of the project.

Gyimah is the 10th minister to resign from the government since PM May set out her original proposals for leaving the EU at Chequers in July. However, prominent Brexiteer and cabinet minister Michael Gove has defended Mrs May's plan, writing in the Daily Mail that leaving the EU is under "great threat" if the deal is rejected by MPs.

Becoming the seventh member of the Government to quit since Theresa May unveiled the draft Withdrawal Agreement, Gyimah says the plan was “not in the British national interest” and that voting for it would “set ourselves up for failure” by surrendering “our voice, our vote and our veto”.

The Conservative MP, who campaigned for Remain, says he will vote against the plan in Parliament and that PM May should not rule out holding a second referendum