British finance minister Philip Hammond has told Prime Minister Theresa May that he will not quit the government after media reports of a split among senior ministers over Brexit, the Daily Telegraph said, citing an unidentified Hammond ally.
Some British newspapers have reported sharp disagreements between members of May’s cabinet. The Daily Telegraph newspaper earlier reported that Hammond could resign after displeasing colleagues by urging caution over measures aimed at controlling immigration.
May has full confidence in Chancellor of the Exchequer Hammond, who argued against Brexit in the referendum, and wants to hear different views on how to make a success of leaving the EU, her spokeswoman said earlier this week.
The Telegraph said Hammond had told the prime minister that he would continue to make clear the “economic realities” of Brexit but that he would not be “pushed about” by those who supported leaving the EU in the June referendum.
The June 23 vote took many investors and chief executives by surprise, triggering the deepest political and financial turmoil in Britain since World War Two and the biggest ever one-day fall in sterling against the dollar.
Different views about how to manage the economic impact of Brexit have caused friction between some senior officials and ministers.
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney on Friday hit back at criticism from May of the central bank’s low interest rates, saying that he would not “take instruction” from politicians on how to do his job.
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