Britain Finance Minister to Resign on Wednesday

Britain Finance Minister Philip Hammond revealed that he will resign next Wednesday before his expected sacking by the favourite to become Britain’s next Prime Minister Boris Johnson takes office, according to Reuters.

“I am sure I am not going to be sacked because I am going to resign before we get to that point,” Hammond said in an exclusive interview to the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

He added that he would hand in his resignation to Prime Minister Theresa May before meeting the Queen for the same action next Wednesday.

"Assuming that Johnson becomes prime minister, I understand that his conditions for serving in his government would include accepting a no-deal (EU) exit on the 31st of October. That is not something I could ever sign up to," he continued.

Johnson has said he would ramp up preparations for a no deal to try to force the EU's negotiators to make changes to the agreement that Prime Minister Theresa May sealed with Brussels and UK lawmakers voted down three times.

But parliamentary opposition to a no deal is growing and the EU is refusing to budge over that withdrawal agreement.

Hammond, who according to sources close to Johnson often infuriated the former mayor who felt the finance minister was “talking Britain down”.

He instead advised the new prime minister to ask the EU for a little longer if there were signs that the two sides could agree on a compromise position - something Johnson’s rival for the premiership, Jeremy Hunt, has said he is open to.

If not, Hammond said he would work with other lawmakers to make sure Britain was not taken out of the EU without a deal against parliament’s wishes - a pledge welcomed by the Brexit policy head of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer.“Yes, (I will campaign) to stop no deal happening on Oct. 31 without the consent of parliament,” Hammond said.

“I want to be a loyal supporter of the next Conservative government and if (it) can deliver a negotiated Brexit deal that protects our economy then I will strongly support that government. And I hope I will be able to.”