This archive report was first published on 21 July 2019.
On July 21, 2019, British finance minister Philip Hammond announced that he would resign before Boris Johnson becomes prime minister, citing his disagreement over Johnson's Brexit strategy.
Hammond's decision comes as Johnson is widely expected to win the Conservative Party's leadership contest on July 23, 2019, and be named as prime minister once Theresa May resigns the premiership on July 24, 2019.
Hammond has become an increasingly fierce critic of Johnson's Brexit strategy, which involves leaving the European Union with or without a deal on October 31, 2019.
"I'm sure I'm not going to be sacked because I'm going to resign before we get to that point," Hammond told BBC television.
Hammond stated that he could never agree to Johnson's Brexit strategy, which includes accepting a no-deal exit on October 31, 2019.
"That is not something that I could ever sign up to. It's very important that the prime minister is able to have a chancellor who is closely aligned with him in terms of policy, and I therefore intend to resign to Theresa May before she goes to the palace to tender her own resignation on Wednesday," Hammond said.
