In his resignation speech to the House of Commons, former UK FM Boris Jonson said it was his privilege to collaborate with the UK PM Theresa May in promoting global Britain.
He then however spelled out how the PM's enthusiasm faded since her Lancaster House speech in 2017, when Theresa May set out the plan for Britain to negotiate Brexit.
"We dithered and we burned through our negotiating capital. We agreed to hand over a 40 billion pound exit fee with no discussion of our future economic relationship. We accepted the jurisdiction of the European Court over key aspects of the withdrawal agreement. And worst of all we allowed the question of the Northern Irish border to become so politically charged, as to dominate the debate," Boris Johnson told the MPs.
In the 18 months that followed the Lancaster House speech, it is as though a fog of self-doubt has descended," Mr. Johnson told the MPs.
"It is not too late to save Brexit. We have time in these negotiations, we have changed tack once and we can change again. The problem is not that we failed to make the case for a Free Trade Agreement of the kind spelt out (by May) at Lancaster House, we haven't even tried. We must try now because we will not get another chance to get it right," Mr. Johnson said.
No one wants a hard border, Mr. Johnson said referring to Northern Ireland, but he argued there could be different rules north and south of the border "to reflect the fact that there are two different jurisdictions."
"With goodwill and common sense we can address concerns about the Northern Ireland border and all borders. We have fully two and a half years to make the technical preparations — along with the preparations for the WTO outcome, which we should now accelerate," the former FM told the Parliament.
Read my personal statement to the House of Commons this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/Zy6klFWQsr
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 18, 2018
It is not the first time the former FM takes a pop against Theresa May. Mr. Johnson resigned as head of the British Foreign Office over Brexit White Paper disagreements with the UK PM and in his resignation letter, he wrote that the Conservative government's plan will reduce the nation to the status of a colony.
I am proud to have served as Foreign Secretary. It is with sadness that I step down: here is my letter explaining why. pic.twitter.com/NZXzUZCjdF
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 9, 2018
In his resignation, Mr. Johnson frustrated the image of a unified Cabinet led by Theresa May, giving ground to rumors of a no confidence vote and even a snap election.
After he quit his government post, Mr. Johnson took on a job with the Daily Telegraph, where his first column was published by the paper on July 15 — thus breaking rules governing how soon ex-ministers can take private sector jobs after leaving office.
In his first article, the former FM promoted the idea of 'Global Britain' and argued the UK must use its soft and hard power to build a better future for itself in the post-Brexit world.
READ MORE: Make Britain Great Again: Ex-FM Boris Johnson Delivers Major Pep Talk for UK
