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| May begins search for new EU envoy amid calls for pro-Brexit appointment | May begins search for new EU envoy amid calls for pro-Brexit appointment |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Theresa May will move quickly to find a replacement to represent the UK in Brussels amid calls from the Tory party to appoint a wholehearted Brexiter to the job – possibly from outside the civil service. | Theresa May will move quickly to find a replacement to represent the UK in Brussels amid calls from the Tory party to appoint a wholehearted Brexiter to the job – possibly from outside the civil service. |
| Sir Ivan Rogers, the head of UKrep – in effect the UK embassy in Brussels – quit in frustration on Tuesday urging his fellow civil servants to provide impartial advice and stand up to muddled thinking. He also made clear that the UK not only lacks an agreed exit strategy, but also a coherent exit negotiating team. | Sir Ivan Rogers, the head of UKrep – in effect the UK embassy in Brussels – quit in frustration on Tuesday urging his fellow civil servants to provide impartial advice and stand up to muddled thinking. He also made clear that the UK not only lacks an agreed exit strategy, but also a coherent exit negotiating team. |
| May is due to trigger article 50, the moment the talks formally start, in March requiring her to urgently recruit someone committed to the goal of Brexit, but also knowledgable about how the labyrinthine EU works. Eurosceptics believe the job description includes someone willing to consider the possibility of leaving the EU without a full deal on a future relationship with Brussels. | May is due to trigger article 50, the moment the talks formally start, in March requiring her to urgently recruit someone committed to the goal of Brexit, but also knowledgable about how the labyrinthine EU works. Eurosceptics believe the job description includes someone willing to consider the possibility of leaving the EU without a full deal on a future relationship with Brussels. |
| Some Tories have called for the Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan to be handed the job of negotiating the UK’s exit, but there is no shortage of Conservative ministers overseeing the talks process. | Some Tories have called for the Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan to be handed the job of negotiating the UK’s exit, but there is no shortage of Conservative ministers overseeing the talks process. |
| The head of the civil service, Sir Jeremy Heywood, will resist calls for a politician to be handed the plum post, although ambassadors have occasionally been appointed from outside the core civil service network. | The head of the civil service, Sir Jeremy Heywood, will resist calls for a politician to be handed the plum post, although ambassadors have occasionally been appointed from outside the core civil service network. |
| Heywood will be aware that Brexit is putting the civil service’s reputation for impartiality under unprecedented threat, with calls from the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, for a complete clearout of the “Europhile Foreign Office”. | Heywood will be aware that Brexit is putting the civil service’s reputation for impartiality under unprecedented threat, with calls from the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, for a complete clearout of the “Europhile Foreign Office”. |
| Iain Duncan Smith, the former cabinet minister, accused Rogers of leaking against ministers and claimed he had lost the trust of Conservative politicians. There is no evidence that Rogers was responsible for the recent leaks, one of which appeared to damage his standing in Downing Street. | Iain Duncan Smith, the former cabinet minister, accused Rogers of leaking against ministers and claimed he had lost the trust of Conservative politicians. There is no evidence that Rogers was responsible for the recent leaks, one of which appeared to damage his standing in Downing Street. |
| In that context, a decision to appoint someone from outside Whitehall would be seen as a vote of no confidence in the impartiality of the civil service. Traditionally, the head of UKrep post has come from the Foreign Office diplomatic cadre, but in recent years senior Treasury officials have been given the job, reflecting the importance of economic and budgetary issues inside the EU. | In that context, a decision to appoint someone from outside Whitehall would be seen as a vote of no confidence in the impartiality of the civil service. Traditionally, the head of UKrep post has come from the Foreign Office diplomatic cadre, but in recent years senior Treasury officials have been given the job, reflecting the importance of economic and budgetary issues inside the EU. |
| The task will require a knowledge not only of the thinking inside the commission negotiating team led by Michel Barnier, but also the possibility of driving a wedge into the EU’s surface unity by locating allies in key European capitals. It was argued, fairly or not, that Rogers would not look hard enough to insert those wedges, focusing too much on Germany and France. | The task will require a knowledge not only of the thinking inside the commission negotiating team led by Michel Barnier, but also the possibility of driving a wedge into the EU’s surface unity by locating allies in key European capitals. It was argued, fairly or not, that Rogers would not look hard enough to insert those wedges, focusing too much on Germany and France. |
| The classic Foreign Office appointment would be Tim Barrow, the director general for politics and a former ambassador to Moscow. He has extensive experience in Brussels. Alex Ellis, the former UK ambassador to Brazil, has been appointed director general of the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU). He is due to start in January, when he will take on responsibility for the negotiation strategy and for relations with EU member states and institutions. | The classic Foreign Office appointment would be Tim Barrow, the director general for politics and a former ambassador to Moscow. He has extensive experience in Brussels. Alex Ellis, the former UK ambassador to Brazil, has been appointed director general of the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU). He is due to start in January, when he will take on responsibility for the negotiation strategy and for relations with EU member states and institutions. |
| But May’s two chiefs of staff, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, like the former home secretary, prize loyalty and come from a Home Office background. This may lead them to look for a Home Office mandarin such as the permanent secretary, Mark Sedwill, a former Foreign Office diplomat, but mainly with Middle East expertise. | But May’s two chiefs of staff, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, like the former home secretary, prize loyalty and come from a Home Office background. This may lead them to look for a Home Office mandarin such as the permanent secretary, Mark Sedwill, a former Foreign Office diplomat, but mainly with Middle East expertise. |
| Eurosceptics will be hoping May can find someone willing to consider the possibility of leaving the EU without a full deal on a future relationship. | Eurosceptics will be hoping May can find someone willing to consider the possibility of leaving the EU without a full deal on a future relationship. |
| Tom Scholar, the permanent secretary at the Treasury, has vast experience but has been running the Treasury for only a year and will have been arguing internally in the past few weeks – in line with the chancellor, Philip Hammond – for the UK to stay close to the EU single market. | Tom Scholar, the permanent secretary at the Treasury, has vast experience but has been running the Treasury for only a year and will have been arguing internally in the past few weeks – in line with the chancellor, Philip Hammond – for the UK to stay close to the EU single market. |
| He was previously the prime minister’s adviser on European and global issues in the Cabinet Office. That job was then taken up by Oliver Robbins, who is now permanent secretary at the DExEU. The department is seeking to coordinate the thinking of Whitehall on the Brexit process. | He was previously the prime minister’s adviser on European and global issues in the Cabinet Office. That job was then taken up by Oliver Robbins, who is now permanent secretary at the DExEU. The department is seeking to coordinate the thinking of Whitehall on the Brexit process. |
| Sir Jon Cunliffe, a sceptic on the euro and close to the former prime minister Gordon Brown, has done the job before, but is now deputy governor of the Bank of England, a job that suits his skill set. | Sir Jon Cunliffe, a sceptic on the euro and close to the former prime minister Gordon Brown, has done the job before, but is now deputy governor of the Bank of England, a job that suits his skill set. |
| Another possibility is Lord Hill, the former EU commissioner who stood down after the referendum result. | Another possibility is Lord Hill, the former EU commissioner who stood down after the referendum result. |
| May will not only have to appoint a new Ukrep chief, but a number two since Rogers’ deputy, Shan Morgan, is also leaving to be the permanent secretary to the Welsh government. | |
| Whoever takes the post will quickly need to prevent any perception that Ukrep is somehow isolated in Whitehall, or that its practice of relaying the views of the EU member states does not betray a sympathy for those views. Rogers in his resignation letter made clear he believed the UK negotiating team needed strengthening, writing: “Serious multilateral negotiating experience is in short supply in Whitehall, and that is not the case in the commission or in the council”. | Whoever takes the post will quickly need to prevent any perception that Ukrep is somehow isolated in Whitehall, or that its practice of relaying the views of the EU member states does not betray a sympathy for those views. Rogers in his resignation letter made clear he believed the UK negotiating team needed strengthening, writing: “Serious multilateral negotiating experience is in short supply in Whitehall, and that is not the case in the commission or in the council”. |