Leading Eurosceptic Dominic Raab was today appointed Brexit Secretary after the dramatic resignation of David Davis.
Mr Raab, the former housing minister, was one of the faces of Vote Leave and worked as Mr Davis’ chief of staff before becoming an MP in 2010.
Theresa May has tried to shore up her struggling leadership by appointing a leading Brexiteer to the key position.
Mr Raab, who reportedly has a black belt in karate, has been hotly tipped for promotion for some time but missed out on a Cabinet position in the PM’s January reshuffle.
He now faces the formidable challenge of winning over the support of disgruntled Eurosceptics to Mrs May’s ‘third way’ Brexit plans amid widespread fury at them.
Dominic Raab will take up the tricky challenge of being Britain’s new Brexit Secretary – and will lead efforts to sell the controversial ‘third way’ plan to the EU.
Dominic Raab (pictured, centre next to Michael Gove and David Davis at a Vote leave event in 2016). Mr Raab worked as Mr Davis’ chief of staff when he was shadow Home Secretary
And he faces the tough challenge of being dispatched to Brussels to convince EU leaders to throw the PM a lifeline and sign up to her plans.
Mr Raab, who was elected MP for Esher and Walton in 2010, is a Brexit true believer and his appointment shows that Mrs May is sticking to her rule of appointing a ‘like for like’ minister in her reshuffles.
But he does not fit the stereotypes which are often thrown at Conservative politicians who camapigned to leave the EU.
He is the son of Jewish Czech refugee who moved to Britain in 1938 – fleeing the march of the Nazis through Europe, and is married to a Brazilian.
The appointment shows that Mrs May is heeding advice to bring in fresh younger talent to her Cabinet – although it also suggests that domestic policies are being sidelined because of Brexit.
Tory MPs who have urged the PM to put more money and time into domestic policies will he worried about the loss of another housing minister after Housing Secretary Sajid Javid left to become Home Secretary two months ago.
And it could also suggest that she could be contemplating extending the EU transition period – something which mangy Tory MPs are dead set against.
In an interview with the BBC recently, Mr Raab hinted that he could bac k a dealy. He said: ‘If the bridge is a bit rocky or takes a bit more or less time, that’s one thing.
‘What we want to know is in the end we get there and we’ve got control over our laws, our borders, and our money.’
Mr Raab’s appointment comes after Mr Davis sensationally quit the Cabinet late last night saying he could not back the PM’s ‘weak’ Brexit plan.
Theresa May (pictured in Downing Street today) has tried to shore up her struggling leadership by appointing a leading Brexiteer to the key position.
He tore into Mrs May’s so-called ‘third way’ Brexit proposal, which received sign-off at a stormy summit at Chequers on Friday.
Speaking on the BBC’s Radio 4 Today Programme, Mr Davis warned the proposal will leave Britain tied to Brussels and encourage Eurocrats to demand more concessions.
He said: ‘They’ll take what we offer already and then demand some more. That’s what I fear.
‘We’re giving too much away, too easily, and that to me is a very dangerous strategy.’
Mrs May is facing the biggest threat to her leadership since last year’s General Election disaster after the dramatic exit.