Brexit row exposes tension in UK govt, top official shifted
Head of Brexit department Oliver Robbins shifted to Cabinet Office as PM Theresa May's EU adviser.
London: One of Britain’s senior-most Brexit officials was on Monday shunted to the Cabinet Office after just over a year in the job, in what marks the latest row to hit the UK government’s divorce from the European Union.
Oliver Robbins has been moved to 10 Downing Street from the department for exiting the European Union (DexEU) to take on a new “coordinating” role, which will see him work more closely with Prime Minister Theresa May.
“In order to strengthen cross-government coordination of the next phase of negotiations with the European Union, the Prime Minister has appointed Oliver Robbins as her EU adviser in the Cabinet Office...,” a DexEU statement said.
However, the main reason behind the shift is being attributed to tensions between him and Brexit secretary David Davis.
The latest wrangles were triggered by an article by UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson reviving his claims that the country’s National Health Service would be £350 million a week richer after Brexit. While this figure has come under dispute since he first used it, his decision to re-open the debate is being widely seen as a challenge to the PM by trying to take centre-stage within the Brexit debate.