First resignation of Theresa May’s cabinet

Infrastructure minister at the Treasury Lord O’Neill has quit the government, becoming the first resignation of Theresa May’s cabinet.

Former Goldman Sachs economist O’Neill was brought into government by former chancellor George Osborne, and given a remit to champion infrastructure and the Northern Powerhouse.

In his resignation letter, O’Neill tells May she “appears” to be giving the Northern Powerhouse project her “attention.”

He says the reason he is quitting is because he has completed a review of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) - drug-resistant illnesses - a review he began before coming a minister.

The peer has also quit the Tory benches in the House of Lords to become a crossbencher.

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