The minister for universities and science Sam Gyimah has resigned in protest at Theresa May’s Brexit deal., calling it “naive”.
Mr Gyimah, who has been tipped as a future leader for the party, said any deal struck with Brussels will be “EU first”.
Writing on his Facebook, the East Surrey MP said: “After careful consideration and reflection, I cannot support the Government’s deal and as such, I have tended my resignation as Universities and Science Minister.”
The Conservative MP, who campaigned for Remain, labelled negotiations over Galileo, the EU’s strategic Satellite Navigation system, “a foretaste of what’s to come under the government’s Brexit deal.”
He added: “Having surrendered our voice, our vote and our veto, we will have to rely on the ‘best endeavours’ of the EU to strike a final agreement that works in our national interest.
“As Minister with the responsibility for space technology I have seen first-hand the EU stack the deck against us time and time again, even while the ink was drying on the transition deal.
“Galileo is a clarion call that it will be ‘EU first’, and to think otherwise – whether you are a Leaver or Remainer – is at best incredibly naive.
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