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The head of the UK government’s legal department has resigned over suggestions that Boris Johnson is trying to backtrack on parts of last year’s Brexit deal related to Northern Ireland.
Jonathan Jones is the sixth senior Whitehall official to resign this year, amid mounting tensions between the prime minister and civil service personnel.
Two officials with knowledge of the situation told the Financial Times that the Treasury lawyer and the permanent secretary of the Government Legal Department would be leaving their post due to a dispute with Downing Street over their plans to challenge parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Those close to Sir Jonathan said he was “very unhappy” with the decision to overwrite parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, part of the 2019 withdrawal agreement, with new powers in the UK internal market bill.
A person familiar with the events that led to Sir Jonathan’s decision to resign said it came after months of tension over the handling of Brexit negotiations and legal disagreements with Suella Braverman, the attorney general.
Ms. Braverman was appointed last February after Boris Johnson fired former attorney general Geoffrey Cox for making what one insider described as “uncomfortable noises” about the importance of upholding international law.
Sir Jonathan is understood to have been dissatisfied with Ms Braverman’s initial interpretation of the legal implications of a no-deal Brexit, and sought official advice from government legal agents: Ms Braverman, Attorney General Michael Ellis and the Secretary of State for Justice. , Robert Buckland.
Two people familiar with the discussions said questions arose about whether the government’s plans to overturn the Brexit withdrawal agreement violated the ministerial code that requires ministers to follow the law, including international law.
In the event that the law enforcement council was split, Downing Street decided to accept the advice of Ms Braverman.
It is understood that the government commissioned external advice that determined that the government, while free to legislate at the national level as it saw fit, would violate international obligations if it legislates in contradiction to the withdrawal agreement.
“Jonathan was one of the good guys,” said a person familiar with internal deliberations. “He is a man of enormous integrity.”
Number 10 has insisted that the new powers were “limited” and necessary to bring clarity to the protocol agreed and signed by Johnson last October.
The Internal Market Bill will put the powers to interpret the Northern Ireland protocol in the hands of British ministers. But Michel Barnier, the EU’s top negotiator, is expected to insist in Brexit negotiations in London on Tuesday that the UK must implement the protocol in full.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, tweeted: “I am confident that the British government will implement the withdrawal agreement, an obligation under international law and a prerequisite for any future partnerships.
“The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and stability on the island and the integrity of the single market.”
Sir Jonathan became head of the government’s legal department in 2014, having previously worked as a legal adviser and attorney at the Home Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Education. He is also a lawyer.
Sir Jonathan’s departure follows the departure of Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Simon McDonald of the Foreign Office, Philip Rutnam of the Home Office, Richard Heaton of the Ministry of Justice and Jonathan Slater of the Department of Education.
Dave Penman, director of the FDA’s union representing senior public officials, said his departure was “an extraordinary decision of principle” that represents “the best values of an impartial and professional civil service.”
“Public officials, like ministers, have the obligation to respect the rule of law: both the ministerial code and the civil service code are unequivocal in this regard,” he said. “It is therefore even more extraordinary that the government’s highest-ranking legal counsel has decided that he has no choice but to resign on an issue that he presumably believes conflicts with his own and ministerial obligations, to act within the spirit and the letter of the Law. “
Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s senior adviser, wants public officials to take more responsibility when policies fail, but the failure of any minister to resign during the coronavirus crisis has increased tensions. Cummings has promised a radical reform of the civil service, promising that a “heavy rain” will fall on Whitehall.
Sir Jonathan’s formal departure is expected to be announced on Tuesday. The Cabinet Office declined to comment.
