SIR IVAN ROGERS has resigned, with immediate effect – with no explanation for his sudden departure yet being made public.
Rogers has been the UK’s permanent representative to the EU since he was appointed by David Cameron in 2013. Widely seen as a capable diplomat, he had been expected to remain in post until November this year – at which time his appointment may even have been renewed.
Rogers’s role required him not only to put the UK case in the EU, but also to take soundings among EU states and report back to No. 10 on how the continent was feeling about its little brother across the water. In this capacity, he warned the Government just weeks ago that negotiating a full exit from the EU could take as long as ten years. This inevitably upset the UK Prime Minister. Her promises that the terms of departure will be negotiated within the two year period set out in the EU’s procedures cannot be challenged without making Theresa May’s Administration look weak and incompetent.
Whether Rogers walked – fed up with government dithering over the complex exit strategy – or whether he was pushed – by a No. 10 team determined to get its own way – remains to be seen. Labour rebel Hilary Benn MP, Chair of the Brexit Select Committee, has urged the Government to “get its skates on” and fill the post quickly.
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