This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49069880
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tory leadership race: Alan Duncan resigns as minister | Tory leadership race: Alan Duncan resigns as minister |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Sir Alan Duncan has quit as a Foreign Office minister in protest against a possible Boris Johnson victory in the Conservative leadership race. | Sir Alan Duncan has quit as a Foreign Office minister in protest against a possible Boris Johnson victory in the Conservative leadership race. |
| Chancellor Philip Hammond and Justice Secretary David Gauke have already said they intend to resign if he wins. | Chancellor Philip Hammond and Justice Secretary David Gauke have already said they intend to resign if he wins. |
| BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said they could not stomach the prospect of a no-deal Brexit which they think Mr Johnson could oversee. | |
| Voting for the leader closes later with the winner to be revealed on Tuesday. | Voting for the leader closes later with the winner to be revealed on Tuesday. |
| The successor to Theresa May - either Mr Johnson or his rival Jeremy Hunt - will enter Downing Street on Wednesday. | The successor to Theresa May - either Mr Johnson or his rival Jeremy Hunt - will enter Downing Street on Wednesday. |
| 'A circus act' | |
| Sir Alan has long been a vocal critical of ex-Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson. He once described him as a "circus act" and claimed he served as his "pooper scooper" at the Foreign Office, clearing up mess created by Mr Johnson. | |
| Most recently, Sir Alan attacked his former boss over the resignation of Sir Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to the US. | |
| Sir Kim Darroch stepped down after comments criticising President Trump's administration were leaked. | |
| Sir Alan said Mr Johnson - by failing to give his support to the ambassador - had "basically thrown our top diplomat under the bus". | |
| He has also previously said Mr Johnson was "the last person on Earth who would make any progress in negotiating with the EU at the moment." | |
| No-deal Brexit | |
| The BBC's Norman Smith said that in the resignation of Sir Alan, and the promises to quit by Mr Hammond and Mr Gauke, we are beginning to see the basis of a Tory opposition to Mr Johnson on the backbenches. | |
| He said they - and potentially others to come - feel they cannot support a prime minister comfortable with no deal and so it is better to walk now than be pushed later. | |
| In an interview with Conservative Home, Mr Johnson said every member of his cabinet would have to be "reconciled" with the policy of leaving on 31 October - with or without a deal. | |
| Mr Hunt has said he too is prepared to leave with no deal, but would accept a further delay, if required, to get a new withdrawal deal. |