Boris Johnson was dealt a further blow by Lord Frost, his all-in-all ally. He abruptly stopped slamming Covid curbs as well as high taxes and his furious Tories demanded that the PM fire his chief of staff to prevent him being fired.
Although Mr Johnson was his close friend, the Brexit minister walked out expressing regret at the direction Of Travel’, saying that he wanted the lockdown to end ‘irreversible.
Instantly, the departure sparked a new surge of hatred on Conservative WhatsApp groups. MPs branded it a “disaster” and a “watershed moment”.
Following the massive mob protests over Plan B curbs, weeks of suffering over the sleaze allegations as well as the Downing Street “Partygate” scandal and mutinous backbenchers, tweets suggesting that the prime minister might not be able to save his life have been retweeted by mutinous backbenchers. This could hinder Johnson’s ability to pass new restrictions to stop the Omicron variant from growing, even though scientists warn that mixing should be prohibited at Christmas.
Nikki da Costa is a friend and former No10 aid who warned Lord Frost that the “whole system” in No10 doesn’t work.
Echoing many MPs’ views, she stated that Dan Rosenfield was partly to blame for Dominic Cummings’ death in Downing Street. He had been a Treasury official and replaced Dominic Cummings at the end of 2020.
She said, “He does not like challenges.”
After giving notice to Johnson one week prior, Lord Frost is believed to have been convinced to postpone his resignation to January.
The Mail on Sunday revealed that he had left, and the peer announced his resignation.
Senior Government sources claimed that it was caused by the introduction ‘Plan B’ Covid measures (including vaccine passports). However, it was only the end of months of increasing dissatisfaction over rising taxes and the staggering costs of ‘net zero” environmental policies.
Conservative MPs have begun to talk about the possibility of a challenge for the leadership of the Prime Minister within six months. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Chancellor Rishi Sunak are the leading contenders.
A group consisting of over 100 Tory MPs sent messages titled “Clean Global Brexit” to Andrew Bridgen. Theresa Villiers called it a “disaster”.
Nadine Dorries, Culture Minister, described Johnson as a “hero” and was then seen to have been removed from the group by rebel leader Steve Baker who wrote: “Enough is enough.”
Lord Frost, who was released by Downing Street in a letter, expressed gratitude to Mr Johnson for his work in implementing the EU referendum result. He added, however, that Brexit is now safe. Now, the challenge is for the government to seize the opportunity it offers.
“You are aware of my concern about current travel direction. “I hope that we can move fast to the place we need to go: A lightly regulated and low-tax entrepreneurial economy at the cutting edge modern science.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with Johnson’s pandemic strategy and said: “We also have to learn how to live with Covid, which I understand is your instinct. You bravely decided in July against much opposition to open the country up again.
“Sadly, however, it was not irreversible. As I had hoped, and as you believed, too. “I hope that we get on the right track and are not tempted to resort to coercive methods as we’ve seen elsewhere.
Johnson replied by expressing his sorrow at Lord Frost’s departure, but also praising his “unique contribution to getting Brexit done”.
The Mail on Saturday can report that Cabinet Minister Lord Frost has publicly resigned from Boris Johnson’s Government.
Some Conservative MPs found Lord Frost’s resignation controversial, as messages to a WhatsApp group revealed. Sky News reports that Andrew Bridgen described the decision as a “disaster” and Theresa Villiers called it a “very worrying”. Nadine Dorries (culture minister) described Johnson as an ‘hero’ before being removed by Steve Baker who wrote ‘Enough is Enough’.
After Lord Frost’s resignation, Steve Baker said that “we have enough troubles in our immediate future”
Former Cabinet minister Lord Frost is seen arriving at 10 Downing Street on November 24, 2021
Pictured is Lord Frost’s resignation to Boris Johnson informing him of his concerns regarding the direction of the travel.
Pictured: Boris Johnson wrote Lord Frost a letter expressing regret for his resignation.
He also stated: “Many people said it was impossible to reach such a comprehensive deal… within such a limited time. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“It would have not been possible without your tireless hard work, determination and vision. Your service in this government and country should make you proud.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Lord Frost was ‘principled’ – referring to his own resignation as Chancellor before the pandemic when Mr Cummings sacked his advisers.
The Health Secretary, speaking on Trevor Phillips On Sky News, said: “I’ve had the privilege of working with him now for a couple of years. I think he’s an outstanding public servant and I think that the way Brexit was done and how we achieved those successes, he’s been a central architect of that, so I wish him the best.
“But I do understand his reasons, he’s a principled man, you know, principled people do resign from the government – I know all about that – and that’s something… that’s a decision for him to take.”
Lord Frost’s dramatic move – triggered by his growing ‘disillusionment’ with the direction of Tory policy – has sparked yet another crisis within a beleaguered Downing Street.
Following a Commons revolt by 100 Tory MPs about ‘Plan B,’ and the losing of a 23,000 majority of North Shropshire’s by-election in spite of the row over celebrations at No 10, this latest blow to Mr Johnson is devastating.
Sources claimed that Lord Frost’s bombshell created panic within No 10. According to a Government source, Lord Frost was one of the most vocal advocates within the Cabinet for keeping the country open as well as avoiding any further legislative controls in order to combat the pandemic. According to Frost, vaccine passports were a flawed principle.
“The Covid regulations have only added to his disappointment with the government’s policy direction in the last months. This includes his opposition to tax increases and net zero prioritisation. In recent speeches, he stated that he doesn’t believe that an European-style economic model of high tax and high spending that Downing Street has pursued is going to bring about the benefits that Brexit.
Lord Frost’s stance reflects Mr Sunak’s concerns about being strong-armed by No 10 into introducing measures such as the 1.25 percentage point hike in National Insurance to tackle the NHS backlog and reform long-term care, and the ‘net zero’ plan to decarbonise the economy by 2050, which some estimates have said will cost as much as £1.4 trillion.
According to the source, Lord Frost left despite disagreements with No 10 on policy. However, they appeared to have been in good spirits.
Senior Government officials said Lord Frost was motivated by many factors.
However, the source claimed that he was fed up with his role, which involved interminable, exhausting spats with Brussels.
His resignation from Lord Frost is a blow in particular because he was known by Government as Boris’s Brexit brain. He was responsible for the UK’s negotiation with the EU to reach a free trade deal during the transition period and current conflicts over Northern Ireland.
The infamous Northern Ireland Protocol keeps the border with the Republic open but requires checks on goods from Britain, which has led to certain products – such as sausages and oak trees – being blocked from entering the province under EU rules.
It also marks the end of one the most beloved Cabinet Ministers. He received a net satisfaction score of 73.3 percentage points in the last survey of Conservative MPs. This is second to Mr Sunak and Ms Truss. Lord Frost’s resignation comes just as Mr Johnson was plotting a New Year ‘relaunch’ for the Government, understood to involve a shake-up of his No 10 team, a clear-out of his Whips Office – including Chief Whip Mark Spencer – and a limited ministerial reshuffle.
A mass Commons rebellion exposed flaws in No 10,’s relationship to Parliamentary parties, leaving Mr Johnson open to possible votes of no confidence or, if that fails, a race for new leadership.
If 54 Tory MPs write to Sir Graham Brady (chairman of the 1922 Committee), asking for one, a confidence vote will be triggered.
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Britain speaks to members the Metropolitan Police during a break-room visit at Uxbridge’s police station on December 17th 2021
Senior Government sources claimed that Lord Frost’s resignation was triggered by the introduction ‘Plan B’ Covid measures including vaccination passports
Sir Graham is careful to keep the exact total confidential, though the number MPs who have threatened to do the same has increased dramatically since the byelection loss.
Downing Street, too, is anxiously awaiting the findings of a Cabinet Office probe into partygate. This investigation has already been thrown into chaos. Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, was resigned on Friday following revelations that an event took place at his office in December 2013.
Members of Mr Case’s private office were invited to a quiz. The invite was titled “Christmas Party!” The quiz was held on December 17th, the same day as the No 10-cheese-and-wine gathering that forms part of Mr Case’s investigation. Sue Gray, senior civil servant, will be concluding the investigation.
Sources close to the Tory Party claim that the By-Election would have been held two weeks ago before the partygate crisis broke. They would then have retained the seat which was lost by the Liberal Democrats.
They believe Mr Johnson will ‘tough out’ the rest of the winter – helped by the sense of national emergency created by the surge in Covid cases due to the Omicron variant – but face a serious threat in the spring as a result of May’s local elections.
Theresa May’s increase in the number of party council seats was 550 since the last contest, May 2017. This happened when Jeremy Corbyn was Labour leader.
Her feat suggests that Mr Johnson will likely suffer morale-sapping loss next time. To retaliate for her political troubles over Brexit, Ms May’s allies in Parliament are working to oppose Mr Johnson.
Members will want to get rid of Johnson as soon as possible to avoid the 2024 General Election.
Lord Frost is also becoming increasingly annoyed by the spats with Maros, Vice-President of European Commission Maros Seckovic during the Brexit negotiations. If no agreement can be reached, Frost threatens to trigger Article 16 and suspend the Northern Ireland protocol.
Lord Frost wrote for The Mail last Sunday, referring to the “intensive and sometimes tragic argument with EU” over the protocol. He called for more ambition and urgency, saying that the core problem was that not all goods get to Northern Ireland the same way as they do elsewhere in our country. If they do, they face additional costs and delays. It’s unfair on Northern Ireland consumers.
In his speeches last month to the Tory conference as well to Margaret Thatcher’s conference (run by Centre For Policy Studies think tank), he had previously warned of high-tax and high-spend policies.
Lord Frost wasn’t available last night for comments.
ANNA MIKHAILOVA : A Great Frost learnt how to negotiate with the Kremlin
A rare Brexiteer in Whitehall, Lord Frost has made his name fighting Britain’s battles with Brussels in the face of barefaced threats and hostile rhetoric.
Boris Johnson declared him this year the Greatest Frost since 1709 because of his fearsome reputation at negotiations.
They have been close friends since Johnson was Foreign Secretary. Johnson was the Prime Minister when Johnson named the career diplomat who had succeeded Olly Robbins, Theresa May’s chief negotiator.
Lord David Frost, 56 (known as Boris’s Brexit brain in Downing Street), graduated with an Oxford first-class degree. It is a history and medieval French double major.
Whitehall’s rare Brexiteer, Lord Frost is a champion for Britain against Brussels. He has faced hostile rhetoric and threats from the face of naked faces.
His career began as a diplomat with the Foreign Office. He was posted in Brussels as well as serving as Ambassador to Denmark.
In 2013, he left civil service to lead the Scotch Whisky Association. He wrote at the time a pamphlet about negotiating with EU, which stated: “Make what you want appear normal.”
Johnson called him back into government to serve as his advisor and Foreign Secretary. Johnson made him the chief Brexit negotiator by 2019.
Johnson later praised Johnson’s ‘Herculean efforts to secure a deal for the EU’.
Lord Frost used tips from The Kremlin Schools of Negotiation to help him during his meetings with Brussels. It was written by Igor Ryzov who is an expert on hardball tactics and was a KGB veteran.
This book was published in 2019 in UK and offers insight into Soviet tradecraft as well as tips like putting your opponents in a state of uncertainty, where fear is the strongest weapon. Andrei Gromyko (the Soviet foreign minister who was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis) is described as an expert on the techniques.
Johnson brought him back into government to serve as his advisor and Foreign Secretary. Johnson made him the chief Brexit negotiator for 2019
Last year Lord Frost received joint responsibilities from Mr Johnson as he led post-Brexit negotiations with the EU, and was National Security Adviser.
Mrs May was ambivalent about his security appointment and called him a political appointee lacking any expertise in national security.
Lord Frost did not accept the full-time job and instead focused his efforts on EU negotiations, in addition to taking up a seat within the House of Lords.
Since March of last year, his title was Minister of State in the Cabinet Office. Additionally, he is a member full of Johnson’s Cabinet.
Lord Frost is leading post-Brexit trade negotiations. His tough line has made it clear that he does not fear tearing up the Northern Ireland protocol.
Following a French minister’s statement that the EU could threaten the UK’s energy supply, the French Minister took to Twitter to criticize the ‘French rhetorical and threat’ statements.
In October’s significant speech, Lord Frost in Portugal laid the groundwork for the EU.
It will take two to fix the “fractious” relationship between Britain, Brussels.
However, sources claim Lord Frost privately expressed concern at the slow progress regarding the protocol. He also claimed that Johnson has become too focused on other things.
In private Lord Frost claims that Mr Johnson doesn’t focus on Northern Ireland negotiations. But when he does, it provides political will and the ability to move the talks forward.
Although he privately claims that Mr Johnson isn’t ‘focused’ on Northern Ireland talks but, when he does focus, he gives the political will necessary to bring the negotiations to a close.
Critics accused the Government last week of being’soft’ when it approached the protocol. It announced that negotiations would continue into the New Year with a new deadline at the end February.
Lord Frost, who is now married to Harriet Frost, has two children by his first marriage. He is a keen runner – but sources said he eased back last year when he suffered Covid symptoms.