UK minister quits over Brexit

LONDON, Nov. 9 -- British Transport Minister Jo Johnson quit his job on Friday over Brexit, which he called for the public to have a say on.

The minister, who is brother of former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, said his country was barrelling toward an incoherent Brexit that is going to leave the people trapped in a subordinate relationship to the European Union (EU).

He said it was imperative to go back to the people and check they are content to proceed on this extraordinary basis.

Johnson, who voted to remain in the EU, said in a statement entitled Why I Cannot Support the Government's Proposed Brexit Deal, that Brexit had divided the country, the political parties as well as the families.

Johnson said he would vote against the withdrawal agreement which the prime minister was trying to agree with the European Union, describing it as "a terrible mistake".

"Hopes for the 'easiest trade deal in history' have proved to be delusions," he said. "Contrary to promises, there is in fact no deal at all on our future trading relationship with the EU which the government can present to the country."

Johnson stressed that given Brexit had "turned out to be so far from what was once promised, the democratic thing to do is to give the public the final say."

Boris Johnson, a leading Brexiteer, said on his twitter following his brother's resignation, that "We may not have agreed about Brexit but we are united in dismay at the intellectually and politically indefensible of the UK position."

"This is not taking back control. It is a surrender of control. It does not remotely correspond to the mandate of the people in June 2016," he said.

A slew of resignations by the government secretaries and ministers have happened over the past months. These high-level officials, including David Davis and Boris Johnson, said they decided to step down because of different stance with the Brexit deal, proposed by Prime Minister Theresa May.