Amber Rudd: Work and pensions secretary resigns and quits Tories as Boris Johnson’s government plunged into further chaos

Amber Rudd has sensationally quit the cabinet – and the Conservative Party – accusing Boris Johnson of misleading the country over wanting to avoid a crash-out Brexit.

In a devastating resignation letter, the work and pensions secretary told the prime minister: “I no longer believe leaving with a deal is the government’s main objective.”

Ms Rudd, a leading pro-EU figure criticised for serving Mr Johnson in the first place, also condemned the decision to expel 21 rebel Tories for defiance over Brexit, another reason for walking out.

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It was “an assault on decency and democracy” and an “act of political vandalism” to end the careers of respected heavyweights including Ken Clarke, Philip Hammond, David Gauke and Nicholas Soames.

“I cannot stand by as good, loyal, moderate Conservatives are expelled,” Ms Rudd wrote. Ms Rudd has said she will stand as an independent MP in a future general election.

Shape Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures Show all 50 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures 1/50 6 September 2019 A bull bumps into a plain clothes police officer (left) while being walked by Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his visit to Darnford Farm in Banchory near Aberdeen. It coincided with the publication of Lord Bew's review and an announcement of extra funding for Scottish farmers PA 2/50 5 September 2019 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon cuts the hair of David Torrance MSP raising £1000 for the charity Maggie's Centre in Kirkcaldy at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh PA 3/50 4 September 2019 Australia's David Warner looks dejected after being dismissed by England's Stuart Broad during day one of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. Getty 4/50 3 September 2019 Anti Brexit demonstrators attend a protest at Parliament Square. 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England fans celebrated the loss of David Warner and Cameron Bancroft dismissals by waving sandpaper after they both faced bans for their roles in the Sandpaper scandal last year. Australia were all out for 284 after Steve Smith frustrated the hosts with a total of 144. He helped drag his side from 122-8. Getty 37/50 31 July 2019 A collapsed bridge near Grinton, North Yorkshire, after parts of the region had up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hours on Tuesday. PA 38/50 30 July 2019 Acrobats Beren d'Amico, Louis Gift and Charlie Wheeller, from Barely Methodical Troupe perform a routine on Calton Hill in Edinburgh as they bring their debut show Bromance to the Edinburgh Fringe. PA 39/50 29 July 2019 Theresa the robotic waitress at The Tea Terrace's Cobham branch in Surrey. Theresa represents the 6th Generation of robotic waitresses which were first launched in Japan a few years ago. 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It coincided with the publication of Lord Bew's review and an announcement of extra funding for Scottish farmers PA 2/50 5 September 2019 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon cuts the hair of David Torrance MSP raising £1000 for the charity Maggie's Centre in Kirkcaldy at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh PA 3/50 4 September 2019 Australia's David Warner looks dejected after being dismissed by England's Stuart Broad during day one of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. Getty 4/50 3 September 2019 Anti Brexit demonstrators attend a protest at Parliament Square. Lawmakers returned from their summer recess Tuesday for a pivotal day in British politics as they challenged Prime Minister Boris Johnson's insistence that the UK leave the European Union on 31 October, even without a withdrawal agreement to cushion the economic blow. AP 5/50 2 September 2019 Set building begins on Waterloo Place in Edinburgh ahead of filming for Fast and Furious 9. 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She pocketed a prize of £410,000 and, having been signed as a development driver for Williams, she keeps up her hopes of making it into Formula One. Getty 27/50 10 August 2019 People gather on the beach as a raft carrying people dressed as clowns heads to shore during the annual Whitby Regatta in Whitby, England. At over 170 years old, the Whitby Regatta is thought to be the oldest sea regatta on the northeast coast of England and draws thousands of visitors each year. Getty 28/50 9 August 2019 Burryman Andrew Taylor, gets a nip of whisky using a straw, from resident Mary Hamblin, 82, as he parades through the town of South Queensferry, near Edinburgh, encased in burrs. The parade takes place on the second Friday of August each year and although the exact meaning of this tradition has been lost through the years it is thought to have begun in the 17th Century. The tradition is believed to bring good luck to the towns people if they give him whisky offered through a straw or a donation of money. PA 29/50 8 August 2019 A mosque is seen amongst residential housing from the air during a mass take off at the annual Bristol hot air balloon festival in Bristol. Reuters 30/50 7 August 2019 An Asiatic lioness eats meat during feeding time ahead of World Lion Day at London Zoo. Reuters 31/50 6 August 2019 Beer enthusiasts taste beer and ale during The Great British Beer Festival at Kensington Olympia in west London. The Great British Beer Festival, organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), brings hundreds of real ales, international beers and real ciders and perries under one roof. AFP/Getty 32/50 5 August 2019 Australia's Nathan Lyon celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Joe Root during day five of the first Ashes test at Edgbaston. The hosts were on the end of a thumping, as Australia won the first test by 251 runs. Getty 33/50 4 August 2019 Franky Zapata stands on his jet-powered "flyboard" prior to landing on St. Margaret's Bay in Dover, during his attempt to fly across the 35-kilometre (22-mile) Channel crossing. The Frenchman achieved his aim today, on his second attempt, after having spent years developing the jet-powered hoverboard. AFP/Getty 34/50 3 August 2019 A Cricket fan wears a Donald Trump inflatable, during day three of the first Ashes test cricket match between England and Australia at Edgbaston in Birmingham. AP 35/50 2 August 2019 An RAF Chinook helicopter flies in sandbags to help repair the dam at Toddbrook Reservoir which was damaged in heavy rainfall. PA 36/50 1 August 2019 Stuart Broad celebrates after taking the wicket of David Warner during day one of the first Ashes test between England and Australia at Edgbaston. England fans celebrated the loss of David Warner and Cameron Bancroft dismissals by waving sandpaper after they both faced bans for their roles in the Sandpaper scandal last year. Australia were all out for 284 after Steve Smith frustrated the hosts with a total of 144. He helped drag his side from 122-8. Getty 37/50 31 July 2019 A collapsed bridge near Grinton, North Yorkshire, after parts of the region had up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hours on Tuesday. PA 38/50 30 July 2019 Acrobats Beren d'Amico, Louis Gift and Charlie Wheeller, from Barely Methodical Troupe perform a routine on Calton Hill in Edinburgh as they bring their debut show Bromance to the Edinburgh Fringe. PA 39/50 29 July 2019 Theresa the robotic waitress at The Tea Terrace's Cobham branch in Surrey. Theresa represents the 6th Generation of robotic waitresses which were first launched in Japan a few years ago. The robot comes with autonomous navigation; automatic obstacle avoidance, voice conversation, and automatic dish delivery. It integrates core technologies in automatic control, multi-sensor perceptual collision avoidance and route planning. PA 40/50 28 July 2019 Competitors during the World Stinging Nettle Eating Championship at The Bottle Inn in Marshwood. Competitors are served 2-foot long stalks of stinging nettles from which they pluck and eat as many leaves as possible. Getty 41/50 27 July 2019 A woman in character as La Muerte from film The Book of Life, during the MCM Manchester Comic Con which see thousands of sci-fi fans, gamers, comic collectors, movie buffs and anime enthusiasts visit Manchester Central. PA 42/50 26 July 2019 England's Jonny Bairstow takes the catch to dismiss Ireland's William Porterfield during their test march at Lord's. Ireland were bowled out for 38 in their second innings in just 15.4 overs - the second lowest total in Test match history. Action Images via Reuters 43/50 25 July 2019 Hamza and Haris splash in the water feature beside the National Football Museum in central Manchester, as the UK braces itself to encounter the hottest July day on record. PA 44/50 24 July 2019 Boris Johnson waves as he enters 10 Downing Street following his appointment as Prime Minster by the Queen. The former London mayor and foreign secretary won his leadership bid by beating Jeremy Hunt in the Tory race the day before. Theresa May stepped down following her resignation as Conservative Party leader on 7 June. EPA 45/50 23 July 2019 Swimmers have fun in the sea on a giant inflatable Flamingo, South Beach,Tenby, Pembrokeshire. Reuters 46/50 22 July 2019 New Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson addresses the audience onstage after she was named as Sir Vince Cable's successor. Swinson beat fellow candidate Ed Davey by 47,997 votes to 28,021 votes. Getty 47/50 21 July 2019 Adam Peaty broke his own world record in the men's 100 metre breaststroke at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. The 24-year-old smashed the previous record of 57.10 seconds he set at last year's European Championships to win in 56.88. In doing so, the Britain achieved one of his career goals of becoming the first man to break the 57-second barrier in the event. Reuters 48/50 20 July 2019 London artist Helen Marshall's People's Moon project, a giant photographic mosaic shown at the exact hour 50 years ago that Apollo 11 landed the first people on the Moon, at Piccadilly Circus, London. PA 49/50 19 July 2019 Players from Uganda and Malawi during their Netball World Cup match at the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool. PA 50/50 18 July 2019 Artist Steve Messam poses next to his monumental landscape artwork 'Hush' which hangs in the moors of Teesdale on July 18, 2019 in Barnard Castle, England. The outdoor installation is inspired by the geology, mining history and landscape of the area. The North Pennines AONB Partnership commissioned the installation which hangs over Bales Hush, a deep gauge in the terrain created when miners flushed the area with water to reveal the geological riches below. Hundreds of metres of recyclable saffron yellow fabric blow in the wind. Getty

The resignation caps a calamitous week for Mr Johnson, whose Brexit strategy has been left in tatters by the successful Westminster revolt to block no deal while also denying him the general election he craves.

It comes amid an extraordinary new threat by No 10 to sabotage the EU and stop it functioning, to try to force it to cave in to the UK’s demands.

Downing Street believes it has devised a way to make the EU no longer “legally constituted”, paralysing its decision making by refusing to appoint a new commissioner.

Last night, a senior government source insisted the Rudd resignation would not deflect it from its determination to carry out Brexit by 31 October, by whatever means.

The source said the “polls show the public do not back attempts by some MPs to cancel the referendum. Resignations to chase headlines won’t change the fact that people want Brexit done”.

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Strikingly, Ms Rudd has not only quit the cabinet but also the Conservative whip, in order to work with the 21 expelled rebels to thwart a no-deal Brexit.

Announcing plans to run as an “independent Conservative” at the next election, she wrote: “I joined your cabinet in good faith; accepting that no deal had to be on the table”.

No 10 had not “provided me with the reassurances I sought” that seeking an exit deal was still the objective.

The Hastings and Rye MP had repeatedly dodged questions over Boris Johnson’s plan to suspend parliament this autumn, an idea she had condemned before joining the cabinet.

David Gauke, one of the Tory rebels to lose the whip, praised Ms Rudd. He also called on other government ministers to act.

“[Amber Rudd] has been extraordinarily brave,” he said. “But her concerns about how the government is behaving reflect the views of many of my [former] colleagues. One way or another, it is time for them to act.

“Always a case for staying at the table. You get criticised by natural allies and, from a distance, it doesn’t look good but you can make a difference.

“But there comes a point – and it’s a difficult judgement – when enough is enough. Lots of good people wrestling with that dilemma.”

The MP’s resignation comes two days after Boris Johnson’s brother resigned from government.

Jo Johnson a higher education minister, said it was impossible to reconcile “family loyalty and the national interest”, adding: “It’s an unresolvable tension and time for others to take on my roles as MP and minister.”

Ian Lavery MP, Labour Party chair, responding to Ms Rudd’s resignation said:“The prime minister has run out of authority in record time and his Brexit plan has been exposed as a sham.

“No one trusts Boris Johnson. Not his cabinet, not his MPs, not even his own brother. After nine years of austerity, we need a Labour government that will invest in our communities and public services.”