SUICIDE MISSION
Pro-EU minister Sir Alan Duncan QUITS to try and ‘bring down’ ex-boss Boris before he even gets to No10
PRO-EU minister Alan Duncan has quit today to try and force a vote of confidence in Boris Johnson BEFORE he gets into No10.
The Europe minister - who has long been critical of Boris - quit this morning so he could try and force a knife-edge vote in BoJo tomorrow.
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He applied for an emergency debate this afternoon to try and force MPs to back him, or boot him before he's even set foot in Downing Street.
But it appears his request was turned down by Speaker John Bercow.
Sir Alan is just one of several who is set to go down with Theresa May's ship this week and walk out before the new PM can sack them.
He told The Sun this afternoon it was meant to be a "positive move".
He added: "I was trying to launch the Government, rather than see it live in doubt from the start."
And he told the BBC this afternoon Boris is going to run "smack into a crisis of government".
He added: "It's the first time in living memory that we've had a minority government change PM mid0term.
"It's untested and in doubt...
"I thought that in order to avoid a constructional crisis we should test that on Tuesday before he goes to the palace on Weds, but the speaker has denied me and the house that opportunity," he added.
Five more are set to quit too in the coming days as polls shows that the Tory Brexiteer is on track to win the leadership race when the results are announced tomorrow.
Sir Alan has made it clear that he can't serve under Boris - and he's long been a foe of his approach.
Even if he had clung on in power in the Foreign Office he was likely to have been sacked by Boris anyway later this week.
In his resignation letter this morning he paid tribute to long-time ally Theresa May, saying she "deserved better" and has displayed ";faultless dignity and an unstinting sense of duty".
His letters also attacked Brexit, saying Britain would have been the "dominant intellectual and political force" if it weren't for our EU exit, and said it was a "dark cloud" over us.
Mrs May paid tribute to his "devoted and energetic service" and for the part he played in at the Foreign Office.
"Thank you for the part that you have played in that important mission - and thank you for the support you have shown me, not just during the last three years, but over the many years we have known each other," she said.
Sir Alan slammed Boris just just days ago over the resignation of US ambassador Sir Kim Darroch, and claimed he'd thrown him under the bus.
And he accused the ex-Foreign Secretary of a "complete failure of leadership and decency" by not giving him his full backing.
Boris refused several times to say whether he would keep him in post, when asked about it as part of a live TV debate.
Later that week Sir Kim quit his role - allies said it was partly because of Boris' comments.
Sir Alan has long been at loggerheads with Boris, and last year said that "publicity is cocaine" and "he needs a regular fix".
He told the Spectator he was "not a team player at all" - and rubbished claims that he would be able to win the Tory members over.
Today fellow minister Greg Hands said it was "absurd" for MPs to consider resigning before Boris is even crowned.
"Such moves make a Corbyn government one step more likely," he blasted, in a thinly veiled attack on his former colleague.
And fellow MP Ben Bradley posted a scathing tweet too, saying: "Oh no. I'm devastated. Cried a river."
And pro-EU group Best for Britain's CEO Naomi Smith said: "Sir Alan's resignation shows what a disaster we're heading for under Boris Johnson.
"He will be joined by other key Government figures, all of whom believe there's nothing patriotic about serving under a Prime Minister willing to wreck the economy for Brexit."
JUMP BEFORE PUSHED
Over the weekend Remainers Philip Hammond and David Gauke revealed they will also quit before the new PM can get rid of them.
Both are opposed to Boris' plans to take us out of the EU with or without a deal.
Mr Hammond said yesterday: "Assuming that Boris Johnson becomes the next Prime Minister, I understand the conditions for serving in his Cabinet will include accepting a No Deal exit on October 31, and it's not something that I could ever sign up to."
The Chancellor said he would work with other Remainer MPs to block a No Deal Brexit on October 31.
Mr Gauke became the first minister to confirm he can't serve under BoJo - instead he will hand Mrs May a letter of resignation minutes before she quits herself on Wednesday afternoon.
The Justice Secretary : "If the test of loyalty to stay in the Cabinet is a commitment to support No Deal on October 31 - which, to be fair to him, Boris has consistently said - then that’s not something I’m prepared to sign up to."
Greg Clark has told friends he's not going to resign.
Rory Stewart said he couldn't serve under Boris weeks ago, but hasn't officially resigned.
"I made that announcement 8 weeks ago - when I said that because of our differences on Brexit and prorogation, I wouldn’t be able to serve in a Boris Johnson cabinet," he said.
RUDDY U-TURN
But others such as Amber Rudd, who have repeatedly said they won't support a No Deal Brexit, appear to have changed their tune to try and keep their jobs under a Boris administration.
She revealed she no longer thinks a second referendum is preferable to a No Deal Brexit. On Sunday she told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “Circumstances have changed.”
International Development Secretary Rory Stewart has said he's opposed to a No Deal and is rumoured to quit or be sacked this week.
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Sir Alan Duncan's resitnation letter
The UK does so much good in the world. It is tragic that just when we could have been the dominant intellectual and political force throughout Europe, and beyond, we have had to spend every day working beneath the dark cloud of Brexit.
On a heartfelt personal note, I have known you and Philip for over 40 years, throughout which you have both displayed faultless dignity and an unstinting sense of duty.
I am only sorry that your three years as prime minister have been brought to an end. You deserved better, but please take lasting comfort from the knowledge that your self-esteem can, and will forever, far exceed your critics.
I was pleased to build a strong relationship with Turkey in the immediate aftermath of the coup attempt. I have reset our relationship with Argentina and established additional flights to the Falklands; have put the UK in the forefront of international cooperation on Venezuela; have negotiated the eviction of Julian Assange from the Ecuador embassy, and then relaunched our relations with Ecuador itself.
I have played my part in handling our vexed relationship with Russia, and in helping ensure last year’s western Balkans summit in London was such a success. Perhaps most fulfilling has been the steady nurturing of UK engagement in Central Asia, where a personal focus on Uzbekistan’s reform path helped lead to the release of a raft of political prisoners and the admission to the country of the BBC, The Economist and Reuters.”
The Foreign Office deserves far more recognition (and resources!) for the excellent work it does for our country, and I salute all who work in it with such integrity.
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