Andrea Leadsom has resigned in protest at Theresa May’s handling of Brexit.

The leader of the house said in a letter to the prime minister: ‘I no longer believe that our approach will deliver on the referendum result’.

She will no longer be a member of the cabinet after the decision today.

‘It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I have decided to resign from the Government,’ she said.

Mrs Leadsom said she was ‘proud’ to have served in Theresa May’s Government since 2016, and had stayed in the Cabinet to ‘shape and fight for Brexit’ despite some ‘uncomfortable compromises along the way’.

She said she did not believe that the UK will be ‘truly sovereign’ through the deal proposed, and said a second referendum would be ‘dangerously divisive’.

She also said there had been ‘such a breakdown of government processes that recent Brexit-related legislative proposals have not been properly scrutinised or approved by Cabinet members’.

Mrs Leadsom, a leading Brexiteer, said she resigned ahead of Thursday’s Business Statement to the Commons because she felt she could not announce a Bill with ‘new elements that I fundamentally oppose’.

‘I fully respect the integrity, resolution and determination that you have shown during your time as Prime Minister,’ she wrote.

‘No one has wanted you to succeed more than I have, but I do now urge you to make the right decisions in the interests of the country, this Government and our party.’

It follows an afternoon of feverish speculation on whether the prime minister could be forced out, potentially even as early as this evening.

However, a spokesman for the prime minister said there were no plans for her to make a speech today.

Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery, commenting on Andrea Leadsom’s resignation from the Cabinet, said: ‘The Prime Minister’s authority is shot and her time is up.

‘While the Tories are ripping themselves apart, our country is in crisis. The Government has made a catastrophic mess of the Brexit negotiations, our steel industry is under threat and universal credit is pushing people into poverty.

‘For the sake of the country, Theresa May needs to go, and we need an immediate general election.’

The prime minister has been summoned to meet Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1992 committee, on Friday.

After a meeting of the influential backbench Tory committee this evening, he told reporters: ‘I will be meeting with the Prime Minister on Friday following her campaigning in the European elections tomorrow and following that meeting I will be consulting with the 1922 executive.’

He said the executive discussed ‘all sorts of things’ in the meeting.

Andrea Leadsom’s resignation letter in full

‘Dear Prime Minister,

‘I am proud to have served in your Government since 2016, first as your Environment Secretary and for the last two years as Leader of the House of Commons, and pay tribute to the excellent work of my civil servants in both roles.

‘More recently, setting up the new complaints procedure, putting in train the restoration of the Palace of Westminster, introducing Proxy Voting for MPs, proposing a new strategy to support Early Years, and ensuring the timely delivery of our legislative programme, my role as Leader of the Commons has been highly rewarding, and I am grateful to have had these opportunities.

‘I stayed in Cabinet to shape and fight for Brexit. There have been some uncomfortable compromises along the way, but you have had my determined support and loyalty in your efforts to deliver Brexit as our shared goal.

‘I no longer believe that our approach will deliver on the referendum result, for the following reasons:

‘1. I do not believe that we will be a truly sovereign United Kingdom through the deal that is now proposed;

‘2. I have always maintained that a second referendum would be dangerously divisive, and I do not support the Government willingly facilitating such a concession. It would also risk undermining our Union which is something I passionately want to see strengthened;

‘3. There has been such a breakdown of government processes that recent Brexit-related legislative proposals have not been properly scrutinised or approved by Cabinet members;

‘4. The tolerance to those in Cabinet who have advocated policies contrary to the Government’s position has led to a complete breakdown of collective responsibility.

‘I know there are important elections tomorrow, and many Conservatives have worked hard to support our excellent candidates. I considered carefully the timing of this decision, but I cannot fulfil my duty as Leader of the House tomorrow, to announce a Bill with new elements that I fundamentally oppose.

‘I fully respect the integrity, resolution and determination that you have shown during your time as Prime Minister. No one has wanted you to succeed more than I have, but I do now urge you to make the right decisions in the interests of the country, this Government and our Party.

‘It is therefore with great regret and with a heavy heart that I resign from the Government.’

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