The justice minister Phillip Lee has resigned over the UK government’s handling of Brexit, dealing a significant blow to Theresa May before key Commons votes on the EU withdrawal bill.



The minister for victims, youth and family justice, who supported remain at the referendum, said he was “incredibly sad” to stand down, but that he believed the government’s Brexit policy was detrimental to the lives of his constituents.

His departure will increase the number of rebels planning to oppose the government on a key amendment to the bill later on Tuesday. The debate on a “meaningful vote” on any final Brexit deal is expected to come down to the wire after No 10 sources said it would not back a compromise deal offered by the leading Tory pro-Europe rebel Dominic Grieve.

Lee, the MP for Bracknell since 2010, confirmed on Twitter that he was quitting in order to back the meaningful vote amendment, and also said he would support a second referendum on the final Brexit deal.

In a statement on his website, he wrote: “The main reason for my taking this decision now is the Brexit process and the government’s wish to limit parliament’s role in contributing to the final outcome in a vote that takes place today.

Quick guide Amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill Show Hide What is the purpose of this Bill? The EU (Withdrawal) Bill repeals the 1972 Act which took the UK into the European Economic Area. In order to avoid a so-called cliff-edge, it then transposes all relevant EU law into British statute, so ministers are then at liberty to choose what should remain part of British law.

What happened to the Bill in the House of Lords? Peers defeated the Government on 15 issues, introducing amendments on a wide range of issues, including membership of the customs union and European Economic Area (EEA) and the mechanism for MPs to get a "meaningful vote" on the final Brexit deal.

What was the government's response? The Government has accepted one of the Lords amendments, allowing the UK to continue to co-operate with EU agencies, which it says is already its policy. It opposes the other 14 and will be seeking to overturn them, though it has offered some compromises, including on the final deal vote in parliament.

What are the crunch votes and when will they happen? The "meaningful vote" is now the only prospect of a government defeat after MPs reached a compromise over the customs union to kick the issue down the road until the new trade bill later this summer. That vote is expected to take place on Tuesday afternoon. The Government has promised MPs a vote on the final Brexit deal, but initially said it would be a simple "take it or leave it" choice. MPs want there to be a formal process for MPs to take control of the negotiation process should the government fail to reach a deal with the EU.

What happens next? The Bill will return to the Lords on June 18, kicking off a process of "Parliamentary ping-pong" which sees it bounce from House to House until agreement is reached. Once it has finally passed, more rebellions are likely on separate Bills on customs and trade which come before MPs next month, followed by legislation on future immigration rules later in the year and a Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill once the final Brexit deal is struck.

Photograph: Simon Dawson/X06555

“If, in the future, I am to look my children in the eye and honestly say that I did my best for them I cannot, in all good conscience, support how our country’s exit from the EU looks set to be delivered.”

In a statement, he added: “I am incredibly sad to have had to announce my resignation as a minister in Her Majesty’s government so that I can better speak up for my constituents and country over how Brexit is currently being delivered.

“I believe that the evidence now shows that the Brexit policy our government is currently pursuing on the basis of the 2016 referendum is detrimental to the people we are elected to serve.”

Lee’s departure is expected to bolster support for those MPs who have already indicated they will rebel ahead of the votes on Tuesday. One Conservative source has claimed that there are also one or two MPs, beyond the original 11 rebels from December, who could vote against the government on the issue.

His support for a second referendum will particularly worry Brexiters who fear that a fresh Tory voice speaking out in favour of a vote on the final deal could mark an escalation of the campaign to stay in the EU.

He tweeted: “Then, when the government is able to set out an achievable, clearly defined path – one that has been properly considered, whose implications have been foreseen, and that is rooted in reality not dogma – it should go to the people, once again, to seek their confirmation.”

However, he added: “I voted to remain in the European Union and have not changed my view that continued membership would have been the better strategic course. Even so, I believe that it would be impossible and wrong to seek to go back to how things were before the referendum”.

Ahead of January’s reshuffle, there was some speculation that Lee, still a practising GP, could be in line to take over from Jeremy Hunt at the Department for Health amid Tory fears that it had lost the confidence of health professionals after a series of difficult reforms. He ended up staying at the Ministry of Justice.

He was also understood to have been frustrated by the government’s decision to drop plans to improve conditions for women in prisons.

Lee added: “If Brexit is worth doing, then it is certainly worth doing well; regardless of how long that takes ... For me, resigning is a last resort – not something that I want to do but something I feel I must do because, for me, such a serious principle is being breached that I would find it hard to live with myself afterwards if I let it pass.”

A Downing Street source said: “We will get a good Brexit deal that works for everybody in the UK. The government’s amendment today provides for a meaningful vote.”

