Senior government QC reportedly quits over Brexit U-turn

Senior government QC reportedly quits over Brexit U-turn

Jonathan Jones

One of the UK government’s most senior lawyers has become the latest in a line of civil servants to quit, seemingly over the government’s U-turn on the Northern Ireland part of the Brexit deal.

Sir Jonathan Jones QC has led the Government Legal Department (GLD) since 2014 (when it was known as TSol) and announced his resignation in an email sent to GLD staff earlier today.

Although he did not mention his reasons for standing down, FT cites unnamed government officials who said it was linked to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s reversal on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Lord Charlie Falconer, Labour’s shadow attorney general, said the resignation “indicates that senior government lawyers think that the government are about to break the law”.

He added: “The government is trashing the best of the UK, we are a law abiding country and the government have some serious questions to answer.”

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