British junior minister quits May's government

Junior Northern Ireland minister Shailesh Vara, who backed remain in the EU referendum, has quit Prime Minister Theresa May's government, highlighting the challenge she faces in winning parliament's backing for her draft Brexit deal.

He is the first member of May's government to resign since she won the backing of her senior ministers for her draft Brexit deal with the European Union on Wednesday, a deal which has so far been mauled by opponents.

Vara criticised her deal in his resignation letter, saying that it left the UK "in a half-way house with no time limit on when we will finally be a sovereign nation".

Vara said he could not support the draft agreement.

"We are a proud nation and it is a sad day when we are reduced to obeying rules made by other countries who have shown they do not have our best interests at heart. We can and must do better than this," he said.