Dominic Raab appointed as UK Brexit Secretary after Davis resigns
Junior minister Steve Baker also quits
UK Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Dominic Raab as her new Brexit Secretary after David Davis sensationally resigned from the UK government on Monday, a day after warring ministers appeared to have reached a consensus over Britain's exit plan from the European Union.
Raab, a pro-Brexit MP, was formerly a housing minister. Davis was followed out the door by Brexit minister Steve Baker, putting May's premiership at serious risk of collapse and forcing her into another reshuffle.
Hardline Brexiteers had claimed that May's proposal was too soft, although no ministers dissented after Friday's meeting at Chequers.
In his resignation letter to May, sent at midnight, Davis said he could not be a "reluctant conscript" to the prime minister's plans for a softer Brexit than he himself wanted.
"The general direction of policy will leave us in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one," he told May.
"I don't think I would do a good job delivering a policy in which I don't have complete faith," he later told the BBC.
Davis was appointed Brexit secretary in 2016 and was responsible for negotiating the UK withdrawal from the EU. He came in for sharp criticism for being underprepared when dealing with EU officials.
May was later on Monday set to outline her plan to parliament and Tory MPs and peers.
"The deep division at the heart of the Conservative Party has broken out in public and plunged this government into crisis," said shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer.
"It is now clearer than ever that Theresa May does not have the authority to negotiate for Britain or deliver a Brexit deal that protects jobs and the economy."