LONDON - British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Sunday he would resign if Boris Johnson became prime minister because he felt unable to support a leader happy to take the country out of the European Union without a deal.
Britain's new prime minister is tipped to be former London mayor Johnson, who has promised to leave the EU "do or die" by an Oct. 31 deadline. That leaves him facing a tricky Brexit challenge from the moment he would take office on Wednesday. "I am sure I am not going to be sacked because I am going to resign before we get to that point," Hammond told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, adding he would resign to May before she tendered her own resignation to the Queen on Wednesday.
Justice minister David Gauke has indicated he will also step down on Wednesday, and some lawmakers say they expect more pro-EU Conservatives to leave their positions to hold talks in parliament to find a way to prevent a no deal. Hammond's intention to resign led Ian Blackford, the Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party, to predict that Johnson could become "the shortest serving prime minister in history".
But the EU has so far been steadfast in its view that it cannot open the withdrawal agreement, and Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said both sides would be "in trouble" if the new prime minister was intent on tearing up the deal.
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UK finance minister to quit before Boris Johnson becomes prime ministerBritish finance minister Philip Hammond said Sunday he would make a point of resigning before Boris Johnson became prime minister, saying he could never agree to his Brexit strategy.
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