A UK minister has resigned saying a row over involvement in the EU’s Galileo satellite-navigation system exposes Theresa May’s Brexit deal as “naive”.
The UK had wanted to stay part of Galileo after Brexit, but the EU said it would be banned from the extra-secure elements of the programme.
Mrs May confirmed on Friday that the UK was pulling out of the project.
Science minister Sam Gyimah said the row was “a clarion call” and that any deal with Brussels would be “EU first”.
The UK’s interests “will be repeatedly and permanently hammered by the EU27 for many years to come”, he added in a Facebook post setting out his reasons for resigning.
Mr Gyimah, who is the 10th minister to resign from the government since Mrs May set out her original proposals for leaving the EU at Chequers in July, also said he would be voting against the deal she had eventually negotiated with Brussels.
However, prominent Brexiteer and cabinet minister Michael Gove has defended Mrs May’s plan, writing in the Daily Mail that leaving the EU is under “great threat” if the deal is rejected by MPs.
Galileo is the EU’s upcoming version of the US’s GPS, which is used by millions of people around the world, and will be used by EU governments, citizens, military and industry.
Brussels had said that, as a result of Brexit, the UK would not be allowed immediate access to part of the system intended for use by government agencies, the armed forces and emergency responders once it came online in 2020.
But the UK, which has invested €1.4bn in the project, said access was vital to its military and security interests.
Mrs May has now said the British army will not use Galileo and the UK will instead explore options to build its own satellite-navigation system – having already set aside £92m to look at how it can be done.
“I cannot let our armed services depend on a system we cannot be sure of,” Mrs May said. “That would not be in our national interest.” –BBC
