London - Britain's ambassador to the European Union has
resigned three months before the expected start of Brexit talks, the
government said on Tuesday, drawing a mixed reaction from pro-EU and
eurosceptic politicians.
"Sir Ivan Rogers has resigned a few months early as UK permanent
representative to the European Union," it said in a statement.
It said Rogers had decided to resign to "enable a successor to be
appointed before the UK invokes Article 50" of the Lisbon Treaty,
which sets the rules for a two-year negotiating process for a nation
leaving the EU.
Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May has said she plans to trigger
Article 50 by the end of March.
Former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne, who campaigned
against Brexit, thanked Rogers for his help in negotiations on EU
finances "over many years."
"He is a perceptive, pragmatic and patriotic public servant," Osborne
said on Twitter.
But John Redwood, a leading Conservative eurosceptic, told the BBC
Rogers had made a "wise decision" because he did not "really have his
heart in" Brexit.
Opposition Labour lawmaker Hillary Benn, who chairs a parliamentary
committee on Brexit, told the broadcaster the government must
urgently replace Rogers.
"It couldn't be a more difficult time to organize a handover," Benn
said.
Rogers, who has served as the British ambassador to the EU since late
2013, confirmed his decision in a note to staff on Tuesday afternoon,
the Financial Times reported.
Government sources said he had been due to leave his post in October.
His relationship with members of May's cabinet had reportedly
deteriorated following the country's vote for Brexit in June.
The BBC said last month that Rogers had warned the government it
could take up to 10 years to finalize negotiations on a Brexit
agreement with the other 27 EU member states.
Critics had accused him of being too pessimistic.
Suzanne Evans, deputy leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party,
said his resignation was "excellent" news.
It leaves "an opening for a dedicated Brexiteer," Evans said on
Twitter.
Arron Banks, chairman of the Leave.EU movement, said Rogers was "far
too much of a pessimist and another of the establishment's old
guard."
"It's time now for someone who is optimistic about the future that
lies ahead for Brexit Britain," said Banks, who is also UKIP's
biggest donor.
Rogers had previously advised former prime minister David Cameron on
European and global affairs, according to an official biography.
The ruling Conservative Party elected May as its new leader after
Cameron resigned following his failed campaign for Britain to vote to
remain in the European Union in a referendum on June 23.