Brexit-Linked Bombshell

The United Kingdom's foreign secretary Boris Johnson has resigned from his position, a Downing Street spokesman has announced.

In a statement, prime minister Theresa May thanked him for his service.

The exit follows the departure of David Davis the UK minister who was negotiating Brexit.

This is a developing story. Return to this post for updates.

UPDATE 1

Via The New York Times:

Mr. Johnson’s departure...eepens the mood of crisis gripping Mrs. May’s government three days after she thought she had won agreement from her cabinet on a Brexit plan.

The public face of the 2016 campaign that persuaded Britons to quit the European Union, known as Brexit, Mr. Johnson is perhaps the most high-profile advocate of leaving the bloc and his departure highlights the depth of the divisions in Mrs. May’s bitterly divided government.

On several occasions, Mr. Johnson had appeared to undermine Mrs. May’s strategy, and in comments that were recently leaked, he described her government as lacking “guts,” unfavorably comparing the prime minister’s negotiating style to that of President Trump.

UPDATE 2

Via The New York Times:

Mr. Davis’s resignation Sunday night revealed the intensity of the split in the cabinet, although he did not appeal to other ministers to follow him.

Mr. Davis was among the members of the prime minister’s cabinet demanding a more complete break from the European Union, known as a “hard Brexit”

Mr. Davis said that he could not accept the approach that Mrs. May demanded in the meeting with top officials on Friday, contending that Britain was giving away too much, too easily in negotiations with the union, and that he was leaving his job because he could not, in conscience, argue for the cabinet’s Brexit position in public.

Other members of Mrs. May’s cabinet have been arguing for a “soft Brexit,” which would seek to maintain economic stability by keeping closer ties to the European Union after Britain leaves. Most recently, Jaguar Land Rover and Airbus have expressed concerns about the government’s approach to the negotiations.

Mr. Davis specifically cited concerns about any agreement that would leave Britain in a customs union and the single market.