UK envoy who quit top EU post resigns from civil service
LONDON — A senior British diplomat who warned that negotiating a European Union exit could take 10 years has quit the civil service, days after stepping down as the U.K.’s envoy to the bloc, the government said Saturday.
Ivan Rogers unexpectedly resigned as Britain’s permanent representative in Brussels on Tuesday, months before divorce talks are due to start, fueling opposition claims that the government’s plans for Britain’s EU exit are in disarray.
Rogers came under pressure following last month’s leak of his suggestion that it could take up to a decade to strike a new trade deal. Politicians who support Brexit called him overly negative.
Tim Barrow, a former U.K. ambassador to Russia, has been appointed to replace him.