Rogers unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday months before the end of his term, thus forcing Prime Minister Theresa May's government to look for a replacement before the triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty in March.
"Serious multilateral negotiating experience is in short supply in Whitehall, and that is not the case in the Commission or in the Council. The Government will only achieve the best for the country if it harnesses the best experience we have — a large proportion of which is concentrated in UKREP — and negotiates resolutely," Rogers said in a letter to his UK Permanent Representation to the European Union (UKRep) colleagues, leaked by The Telegraph newspaper late on Tuesday.
Rogers's resignation has been confirmed by the UK government, which said that the move was made to enable his successor to be appointed before March. Media later reported that the ambassador had a strained relationship with some members of May's cabinet, especially after Rogers' conversation with the prime minister during which he said that the Brexit negotiations could last until mid-2020s.
On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. The majority of Britons supported the decision to leave the 28-nation bloc.
