The top official at Britain's Brexit ministry quit on Monday to start working directly for Prime Minister Theresa May, in what opposition parties branded as "chaos" at a sensitive time in the negotiations. Oliver Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union, will now be May's EU adviser, the ministry said in a statement.
It said the move would "strengthen cross-government coordination of the next phase of negotiations" in Brussels, which is due to start next week. Robbins will continue to head the negotiating team. A source at the ministry told AFP it was a "planned move" and denied a report in the London Evening Standard newspaper that there had been a falling out between Robbins and Brexit Secretary David Davis.