Prime Minister Theresa May confirms she, not Dominic Raab, is leading Brexit negotiations
Theresa May has confirmed that Brexit secretary Dominic Raab will not be in charge of the talks in Brussels, issuing a statement saying she is taking the lead from now on.
The Prime Minister's written statement, issued just a couple of hours before summer recess began, and under the vague headline of "a machinery of government change", said Raab and his Department for Exiting the EU would still be in charge of preparations on the domestic side "in both a deal and no deal scenario".
"To support this, DexEU will recruit some new staff, and a number of Cabinet Office officials coordinating work on preparedness will move to DexEU while maintaining close ties with both departments," May said.
However, Raab – who replaced David Davis after he resigned over the government's white paper earlier this month – will no longer be her man in Brussels.
"I will lead the negotiations with the European Union, with the [Raab] deputising on my behalf," May said.
"Both of us will be supported by the Cabinet Office Europe Unit and with this in mind the Europe Unit will have overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations, drawing upon support from DExEU and other departments as required. A number of staff will transfer from DExEU to the Cabinet Office to deliver that."
There will be no net reduction in staff numbers at DexEU as a result, May said.