Tensions are on the rise in the UK's Cabinet following a recent covert letter by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Environment Secretary Michael Gove to the British PM, in which they demanded that transition arrangements for Britain's exit from the EU should end on June 30, 2021.
One of the Cabinet ministers expressed surprise over "this kind of language in a letter to the Prime Minister," according to The Guardian.
"Some have described it as Orwellian, and it is. It is not helpful when people try and press their views in an untransparent way," The Guardian quoted the unnamed minister as saying.
Referring to Johnson and Gove, another Cabinet minister urged May "to dress them down or look weak," something which was echoed by yet another minister, who described the letter as the kind of arm-twisting by Brexiters one expects to go on behind the scenes."
A leaked letter exposes just how weak Theresa May is,controlled by Boris Johnson & Michael Gove..It really paints a sorry picture of Leader who can't now Lead but needs to be lead. pic.twitter.com/SJiR7wJLlL
— Dude@TheHighCastle (@pab1958) 12 ноября 2017 г.
"The fact that it is in the public and is being inflicted upon the Prime Minister is remarkable," the minister was quoted by The Guardian as saying.
The tensions come as the EU withdrawal bill is due to be pushed by PM May through the House of Commons later this week. Earlier, it was reported that at least 40 Tory MPs had secretly agreed to ink a letter of no confidence in May as the Brexit talks are thought to be coming to a standstill.
Key phrase in Gove/ Johnson letter — "our ambition to be a fully independent, self-governing country BY THE TIME of the next election" Same old sovereignty twaddle, and the expected Tory emphasis on party success rather than the welfare of the people
— School Clerk (@Yeltznik) 12 ноября 2017 г.
READ MORE: Brexit Divorce Bill is 'Thorn in Side of British Government' – Dr. Roslyn Fuller
The Brexit talks between the UK and Brussels, which kicked off on June 19, are expected to wrap up by the end of March 2019. In a referendum on June 23, 2016, about 51.9 percent of British voters supported the UK leaving the EU.
