World

MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Washington's willingness to discuss Russia's security proposals aimed at curbing NATO's eastward expansion was "positive", as fears mount in the West over a major military escalation in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has grown increasingly insistent that the West and NATO are encroaching dangerously close to Russia's borders.

Moscow presented the West with sweeping security demands last week, saying NATO must not admit new members and barring the United States from establishing new bases in former Soviet countries.

The United States responded that it is willing to discuss the security proposals, and Putin said Thursday Washington is ready for talks at the start of next year in Geneva.

"The start of negotiations announced in January will allow us to move forward," he said at his annual end-of-year press conference, adding that representatives from both sides have been appointed.

"I hope that this is the first positive reaction."

The conciliatory tone came after tensions peaked this week when Putin vowed that Russia would take "appropriate retaliatory" military steps in response to what he called the West's "aggressive stance".

He also announced a new arsenal of hypersonic missiles that he has previously described as "invincible" were nearing combat readiness.

'Russia can't be defeated' 

Tensions have been building since mid-November when Washington sounded the alarm over a massive Russian troop build-up on Ukraine's border and claimed that Putin is planning an invasion.

The West has long accused the Kremlin of providing direct military support to pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, who seized two regions shortly after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

Russia denies the claims and Putin has suggested that the conflict, which has claimed over 13,000 lives, is genocidal.

Putin on Thursday also addressed an unprecedented wave of arrests against voices critical of the Kremlin, saying the crackdown is aimed at curbing foreign influence.

"I remind you of what our adversaries have been saying for centuries: Russia cannot be defeated, it can only be destroyed from within," he said.

He added that it was domestic dissent that brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago this month.

The presser coincided with a high-profile court case in Moscow where the country's most prominent rights group, Memorial, is on trial for violations of "foreign agent" legislation.

The case follows other key trials, including the jailing of Russia's most prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny and the closure of his anti-corruption and political organisations on extremism convictions.

"There have always been, are and will be conmen," Putin said of his main domestic opponent. "There is no need to commit crimes."

Western 'obscurantism' 

During the marathon press conference lasting three hours and 56 minutes, Putin addressed questions ranging from the coronavirus and the Beijing Olympics to Russian Santa Claus and transgender people.

It began with pandemic-related questions, including on Russia's low vaccination rate. As of Thursday, only 44 per cent of the population had been fully vaccinated, despite several homemade jabs having been available for free since last year.

Putin called the situation worrying and once again urged majority vaccine-sceptic Russians to get inoculated.

He also denounced as "unacceptable" a decision by several Western nations led by the United States not to send diplomatic representatives to the Beijing Olympics in February, saying sport should not be tainted by politics.

He also repeated his stance of guarding traditional and family values, which has seen him complain that Western liberal values have become obsolete.

"I support the traditional approach that a woman is a woman, and a man is a man," Putin said, adding he hoped that Russians had enough defences "against this obscurantism".

On a lighter note, Putin thanked Father Frost - the Russian Santa Claus who distributes gifts on New Year's Eve -- for helping him become president.

Putin became president on New Year's Eve in 1999, when Russia's first post-Soviet leader Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and Putin -- who was then prime minister - took on the role.

UNITED NATIONS, United States — The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a US-proposed resolution to help humanitarian aid reach desperate Afghans, while seeking to keep funds out of Taliban hands.

The resolution — a first step by the UN after months of wrangling over how to avert a humanitarian catastrophe amid economic meltdown in Afghanistan — was welcomed by the Islamists as a "good step".

Since the Taliban swept back to power in August, billions of dollars in aid and assets have been frozen by the West in what the UN has described as an "unprecedented fiscal shock" to the aid-dependent Afghan economy.

For months now, observers have been warning that millions face a choice between starvation or migration during a combined food, fuel and cash crisis throughout the bitter winter.

The Security Council resolution allows aid to flow into the country for one year without violating international sanctions aimed at isolating the Taliban, whose regime is not recognised by the international community.

"We appreciate it [as] it can help Afghanistan's economic situation," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, adding he hoped the international community would also "speed up" removal of crippling economic and banking sanctions imposed on entities linked to the group.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that "UN sanctions are an important tool to respond to threats and human rights abuses, but we must make sure these sanctions do not hinder the delivery of urgently needed aid".

The United States also announced additional steps on Wednesday easing sanctions against the Taliban to allow aid, updating guidance to make clear that exports of goods and cash transfers are allowed as long as they do not go to individuals targeted by US sanctions.

In Afghanistan, aid workers may be involved in financial transactions with ministries headed by sanctioned individuals. The UN resolution ensures that the aid workers are not violating sanctions.

The text also includes monitoring of the destination of aid, as well as a UN report on the functioning of the assistance every six months.

It is possible to reverse the exemption if evidence shows it is being abused, a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity earlier this week.

UN undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths welcomed the resolution, saying that it would allow more than 160 humanitarian organisations “providing critical food and health assistance in Afghanistan... to implement the work we have planned”.

After the Taliban returned to power, the US froze nearly $9.5 billion from the Afghan central bank and the World Bank also suspended aid to Kabul.

The currency has collapsed, and without funds to pay civil servants, families have resorted to selling furniture and jewelry to make ends meet.

With the country also battered by drought and the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations early this month warned the fiscal shock could cause the economy to contract by 20 per cent within a year.

International aid had represented 40 per cent of Afghanistan’s GDP and financed 80 per cent of its budget.

But Mujahid said the country was not facing such a crisis.

“Aid has come from many countries and the government has vast stocks of food items that can be used,” Mujahid said.

“So, we don’t see a threat of humanitarian crisis although people need assistance.”

On Wednesday, Russia called for the West to unfreeze Afghan assets.

The World Bank announced on December 10 that it would provide $280 million in humanitarian aid to UNICEF and the World Food Programme by the end of December, to be distributed in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorised Pfizer's COVID pill for high-risk people aged 12 and over, calling it an important milestone in the pandemic that will allow millions to access the treatment.

Paxlovid is a combination of two pills taken over five days that was shown in a clinical trial of 2,200 people to be safe and reduced the risk of hospitalisations and deaths among at-risk people by 88 per cent when taken within five days of symptom onset.

"Today's authorisation introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic," said FDA scientist Patrizia Cavazzoni in a statement.

"This breakthrough therapy, which has been shown to significantly reduce hospitalisations and deaths and can be taken at home, will change the way we treat COVID-19, and hopefully help reduce some of the significant pressures facing our healthcare and hospital systems," added Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in a statement.

The FDA stressed it should complement rather than replace vaccines, which remain the frontline tool against the coronavirus.

But pills that are available at pharmacies should be much easier to access than synthetic antibody treatments, which require infusions administered by drip at hospitals or specialised centres.

In an unusual move, the FDA did not convene its customary panel of independent experts to review the in-depth data surrounding Pfizer’s pill ahead of authorisation.

The European Union’s drug regulator last week allowed member states to use Pfizer’s COVID treatment ahead of formal approval, as an emergency measure to curb an Omicron-fuelled wave.

The US has agreed to pay $5.3 billion for 10 million courses, with delivery starting this year and concluding next, according to Pfizer.

Omicron wave 

The authorisation comes as cases are surging across the United States, driven by Omicron, the most infectious variant seen to date.

The highly-mutated variant is better able to bypass prior immunity, and health authorities are urging the public to get boosted with mRNA vaccines in order to restore a higher degree of protection.

Unlike vaccines, the COVID pill does not target the ever-evolving spike protein of the coronavirus, which it uses to invade cells. It should in theory be more variant proof, and Pfizer has said preliminary lab studies have backed up that hypothesis.

Paxlovid is a combination of a new molecule, nirmatrelvir, and HIV antiviral ritonavir, that are taken as separate tablets.

Nirmatrelvir blocks the action of an enzyme the virus needs to replicate, while ritonavir slows down nirmatrelvir’s breakdown so it remains in the body for longer and at higher levels.

Possible side effects include impaired sense of taste, diarrhea, high blood pressure and muscle aches, the FDA said.

There are also potential harmful interactions for people using other drugs, and using Paxlovid in people with uncontrolled or undiagnosed HIV-1 infection may lead to HIV-1 drug resistance, the agency added.

Authorisation is still awaited for another COVID pill, developed by Merck, which is also taken over five days and has been shown to reduce hospitalisations and deaths by 30 per cent among high-risk people.

Independent experts voted in favour of that treatment by a narrow margin, but expressed concerns surrounding its safety, such as potential harm to fetuses and possible damage to DNA.

The two treatments work in different ways inside the body, and Pfizer’s pill is not thought to carry the same level of concerns. Merck’s treatment has been greenlit by Britain and Denmark.

MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin warned Tuesday that Russia was prepared to take "military-technical measures" in response to "unfriendly" Western actions over the Ukraine conflict, in a sharp escalation of rhetoric.

The Russian president has for weeks accused the United States and the Washington-led NATO military alliance of stoking tensions near Moscow's borders, but these were his first comments hinting at potential conflict.

Putin told defence ministry officials that if the West continued its "obviously aggressive stance" Russia would take "appropriate retaliatory military-technical measures".

Russia "will react toughly to unfriendly steps," he said, adding that he wanted to underscore that, "we have every right to do so".

The United States has been sounding the alarm since mid-November that Moscow could be planning a large-scale attack on its ex-Soviet neighbour Ukraine and has warned Putin of unprecedented sanctions.

Western governments have accused Moscow of amassing some 100,000 troops near its border with eastern Ukraine, where Kiev has been fighting pro-Russia separatists since 2014.

Russia denies plotting an invasion and has demanded legal guarantees over its security from the United States and NATO, demanding the alliance stop an eastward expansion.

Last week Moscow presented demands to the United States and NATO saying the alliance must not admit new members or establish military bases in ex-Soviet countries.

"We are extremely concerned that elements of the US global missile defence system are being deployed next to Russia," Putin said, specifying that Romania and Poland would soon be capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles.

'Doorstep of our house' 

"If this infrastructure moves further, if US and NATO missile systems appear in Ukraine, then their approach time to Moscow will be reduced to seven or 10 minutes," he said, adding that the time would be cut even shorter with hypersonic weapons.

Despite hinting at conflict, Putin said that Russia wants to avoid “bloodshed”.

“We want to resolve issues by political and diplomatic means,” he said.

But the Russian leader repeated his grievances over Washington’s support for Ukraine, which includes training Kiev’s forces and committing to them more than $2.5 billion.

Those actions, Putin said, are taking place “at the doorstep of our house”.

And even if Moscow receives US security guarantees, Putin said he would be wary of them because “the United States easily withdraws from all international treaties that for one reason or another become uninteresting to them”.

The West has warned that Putin could use the pretext of provocations in Ukraine to launch a full-scale attack.

Kiev and its Western allies say Moscow has long been involved in the Ukraine conflict, sending troops and weapons to support the separatists in fighting that has claimed over 13,000 lives.

Russia denies the claims and has warned that Kiev has mobilised half its forces to the eastern conflict zone.

Ukraine’s military collapsed in 2014 in the face of Russia seizing Crimea and pro-Moscow separatists grabbing two regions in the Russian-speaking east soon after.

But Kiev’s forces have since modernised and acquired attack drones from NATO member Turkey, which drew ire from Putin when Ukraine deployed them in October.

NEW YORK — US prosecutors urged a New York jury to convict Ghislaine Maxwell of sex trafficking minors on Monday, stating in closing arguments that the British socialite was a “sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing”.

Maxwell, 59, faces an effective life sentence if found guilty of six counts of recruiting and grooming young girls to be abused by late financier Jeffrey Epstein, her long-time companion.

“It is time to hold her accountable,” Prosecutor Alison Moe said, summing up the government’s case following almost three weeks of testimony in the high-profile trial in Manhattan.

American money-manager Epstein, 66, died in jail two years ago while awaiting his own sex crimes trial.

Moe said Maxwell was “the key” to Epstein’s scheme of enticing young girls to give him massages, during which he would sexually abuse them.

“They were partners-in-crime,” she told the 12-person jury.

Maxwell, wearing a cream pullover and black mask, regularly made notes that she passed to her defence counsel as Moe recounted lurid testimony given by four accusers.

Two said they were as young as 14 when Maxwell allegedly began grooming them and arranging for them to give massages to Epstein that ended in sexual activity.

One, identified only as “Jane”, detailed how Maxwell recruited her at summer camp and made her feel “special”.

She said sexual encounters with Epstein became routine, with Maxwell sometimes present.

Another, going by “Carolyn”, said she was usually paid $300 after sexual encounters with Epstein, often by Maxwell herself.

A third alleged victim was Annie Farmer, now 42, who said Maxwell fondled her breasts when she was a teenager at the New Mexico ranch owned by Epstein.

The defence was due to begin its summation after the lunch break.

Judge Alison Nathan will then instruct the jurors how to consider the charges before directing them to retire to deliberate over their verdict.

They must reach a unanimous decision to convict. If they cannot agree, then the judge could declare a mistrial.

The defence has argued that Maxwell was being used as a “scapegoat” for Epstein’s crimes after he evaded justice.

‘Not proven’ 

They also quizzed the women’s ability to recollect quarter-century-old events.

Maxwell’s attorneys argued that “false memories” had been implanted into the minds of the women under questioning and due to intense media scrutiny.

The socialite declined to take the stand but made a brief statement to the judge on Friday.

“Your honour, the government has not proven its case beyond reasonable doubt so there is no need for me to testify,” she said.

The trial had been expected to last into January, but Maxwell now faces the possibility of learning her fate before Christmas Day, her 60th birthday.

If the jury doesn’t reach a verdict by the end of Wednesday’s session then they will reconvene on Monday.

The charges stem from 1994 to 2004. Maxwell, daughter of former newspaper baron Robert Maxwell, pleaded not guilty to all counts, which carry a total of up to 80 years behind bars.

The conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors carries a maximum 40-year sentence. The lesser charges have terms of five or ten years.

SURIGAO CITY, Philippines — The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year surged to 375 on Monday, as desperate survivors pleaded for urgent supplies of drinking water and food.

The Philippine Red Cross reported "complete carnage" in coastal areas after Super Typhoon Rai left homes, hospitals and schools "ripped to shreds".

The storm tore off roofs, uprooted trees, toppled concrete power poles, smashed wooden houses to pieces, wiped out crops and flooded villages — sparking comparisons to the damage caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

"Our situation is so desperate," said Ferry Asuncion, a street vendor in the hard-hit seaside city of Surigao, which was devastated by the storm.

Residents urgently needed "drinking water and food", he said.

At least 375 people were killed and 56 are missing in the latest disaster to hit the archipelago, with 500 more injured, the national police said.

More than 380,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Rai slammed into the country on Thursday.

One of the hardest-hit islands was Bohol — known for its beaches, "Chocolate Hills" and tiny tarsier primates — where at least 94 people have died, provincial Governor Arthur Yap said on Facebook.

Many wooden houses in Bohol's coastal town of Ubay were flattened and small fishing boats destroyed on the island, where a state of calamity has been declared.

A senior official at the national disaster agency said he had not expected as many deaths.

"I was proven wrong as it appears now coming from the reports," said Casiano Monilla, deputy administrator for operations.

Rai hit the Philippines late in the typhoon season: Most cyclones develop between July and October.

Scientists have long warned that typhoons are becoming more powerful and strengthening more rapidly as the world becomes warmer because of human-driven climate change.

The Philippines — ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change — is hit by an average of 20 storms every year, which typically wipe out harvests, homes and infrastructure in already impoverished areas.

In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan was the strongest storm ever to have made landfall, leaving over 7,300 people dead or missing.

The death toll from Rai is not expected to get anywhere close to that number.

The Philippines has an established disaster management system that provides early warnings of approaching storms and moves vulnerable communities into evacuation centres.

But the storm has dealt a savage blow to the tourism sector, which was already struggling after COVID-19 restrictions decimated visitor numbers.

"SOS" has been painted on a road in the tourist town of General Luna on Siargao Island, where surfers and holidaymakers had flocked ahead of Christmas, as people struggled to find water and food.

"There's no water anymore, there's a water shortage, on day one there was already looting in our neighbourhood," Siargao resort owner Marja O'Donnell told CNN Philippines.

There has also been widespread destruction on Dinagat and Mindanao islands, which along with Siargao bore the brunt of the storm when it hit, packing wind speeds of 195 kilometres per hour.

Police reported 167 deaths in the Caraga region, which includes Dinagat, Siargao and the north-eastern part of Mindanao.

BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Monday authorised a vaccine from US company Novavax as its fifth official jab for use across the European Union, hours after the EU medicines watchdog gave approval.

Officials hope the vaccine, made from a more conventional technology than the others, will help persuade those hesitant about vaccination to come forward.

"At a time where the Omicron variant is rapidly spreading, and where we need to step up vaccination and the administration of boosters, I am particularly pleased with today's authorisation of the Novavax vaccine," said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

The Novavax vaccine now sits alongside the EU's other authorised COVID jabs, from BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Called Nuvaxovid, the Novavax offering is a vaccine based on so-called protein subunit technology which is tried and tested, having been used for decades to vaccinate people against diseases including hepatitis B and whooping cough.

Unlike mRNA vaccines produced by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna, Nuvaxovid does not need to be stored in ultra-low temperatures, giving it a logistical advantage in difficult-to-access regions.

Earlier Monday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave the green light for the jab to be given conditional marketing authorisation.

Careful study of clinical data from studies in Britain and in the United States and Mexico had showed it to be "robust", meeting EU criteria for "efficacy, safety and quality", it said.

Von der Leyen, in her statement, said she hoped the newest addition to the EU's range of vaccines would "offer a strong encouragement to everyone who has not yet been vaccinated or boosted, that now is the time to do so".

EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said that Nuvaxovid "shows promising results against COVID-19". Vaccinations and boosters were "today more important than ever if we are to stem the wave of infections and counter the emergence and spread of new variants", she said.

Novavax, a US biotech firm based in the state of Maryland, has already won emergency-use approval for its vaccine in Indonesia and the Philippines, and Japan has agreed to buy 150 million doses.

It would also make an application to the US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, said the company, whose production and vaccine-vetting process has been plagued by delays.

Novavax said it has also filed for approval in Britain, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The company’s chief executive, Stanley Erck, said the Commission’s authorisation would deliver the vaccine to the EU “during a critical time when we believe having choice among vaccines will lead to increased immunisation”.

The vaccine “may help address major obstacles to global vaccination, including global distribution challenges and vaccine hesitancy”, Erck added.

The EMA noted that while the two main clinical trials of Nuvaxovid showed between 89-90 per cent efficacy in reducing the number of symptomatic COVID cases, that was against the Alpha and Beta variants of COVID that are no longer prevalent.

“There is currently limited data on the efficacy of Nuvaxovid against other variants of concern, including Omicron,” it said.

On the face of it, the European Union does not need another vaccine.

It has 69 per cent of its population fully vaccinated, and has secured advance purchases of up to 4.2 billion doses from seven vaccine manufacturers.

Largely it is relying on BioNTech/Pfizer, which accounts for more than half the vaccines it has bought or has options for.

But the EU is also the world’s biggest exporter of vaccines, when including doses sent from factories in the bloc under contract, others given to the WHO-led Covax facility, and other donations.

Even if Nuvaxovid sees limited use in the EU, it could bolster supplies European Union member states have promised to send to other parts of the globe.

The EU signed its pre-purchase agreement with Novavax in August, ahead of approval and authorisation. The deal would see the US company delivering up to 100 million doses starting early next year, with options for an additional 100 million through into 2023.

Member states have already locked in orders for 27 million doses.

KABUL — Hundreds of people braved sub-zero temperatures in Afghanistan's capital to queue outside the passport office early Sunday, a day after the Taliban government announced it would resume issuing travel documents.

Many began their wait the previous night and most stood patiently in single file — some desperate to leave the country for medical treatment, others to escape the Islamists' renewed rule.

Tense Taliban personnel periodically charged crowds that formed at the front of the queue and at a nearby roadblock.

"We don't want any suicide attack or explosion to happen," said Taliban security operative Ajmal Toofan, 22, expressing concerns about the dangers of crowding.

The local branch of the Daesh group, the Taliban's principal enemy, killed more than 150 people in late August when citizens massed at Kabul airport in a desperate bid to leave during the early days of the new regime.

"Our responsibility here is to protect people," Toofan added calmly, his gun pointed professionally towards the ground. "But the people are not cooperating."

He spoke to AFP as one of his colleagues pushed a man who then fell headlong just short of a coil of barbed wire.

Mohammed Osman Akbari, 60, said he was urgently trying to reach Pakistan, because dilapidated hospitals at home were unable to complete his heart surgery.

Medics "put springs in my heart", he said, referring to a stent. "They need to be removed and it's not possible here."

Nearby, ambulances containing people too sick to queue were parked at the side of the road.

"The patient has a heart problem," said ambulance driver Muslim Fakhri, 21, referring to a 43-year-old man lying on a stretcher inside his vehicle.

An applicant has to be present to ensure the passport is issued, he explained.

The Taliban initially stopped issuing passports shortly after their return to power, which came as the previous, Western-backed regime imploded in the final stages of a US military withdrawal.

In October, authorities reopened the passport office in Kabul only to suspend work days later as a flood of applications caused the biometric equipment to break down.

But the office said Saturday that the issue has been resolved and those whose applications were already in process can now get their documents.

Mursal Rasooli, 26, said she was happy to hear the news.

“The situation here is not peaceful,” she told AFP, hugging her two-year-old daughter Bibi Hawa close for dual relief against the biting cold.

“If the situation gets worse than this, then we have the passport” and can flee, she said.

Her husband is in Iran because he could not find work here, she added, before expressing concern about skyrocketing prices and a lack of jobs and education for women and girls.

Issuing passports — and allowing people to leave amid a humanitarian crisis the UN has called an “avalanche of hunger” — is seen as a test of the Taliban’s commitment to the international community.

The Taliban are meanwhile pressing donors to restore billions of dollars in aid that was suspended when they came to power.

Local musician Omid Naseer, sporting a leather jacket, short beard and unkempt hair, was desperate to leave.

For “months now, since the Taliban came [to power], we’ve had no work”, he said.

“The artists are most vulnerable, but no one cares.”

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was left reeling on Sunday after his Brexit minister resigned, ending a difficult week during which his Conservative Party suffered a humiliating defeat in a local by-election and his own MPs rebelled over new coronavirus curbs.

David Frost, a trusted ally of the prime minister and former Brexit negotiator, sent his resignation letter late Saturday following reports that he was to leave his Cabinet post in January.

"It is disappointing that this plan has become public this evening and in the circumstances I think it is right for me to write to step down with immediate effect," he said in the letter, published by Johnson's Downing Street office.

Frost told Johnson he had "concerns about the current direction of travel" regarding coronavirus regulations and tax rises.

Johnson responded that he was "very sorry" to receive the resignation, "given everything you have achieved and contributed to this government".

The Mail on Sunday had that Frost handed in his resignation a week ago, but had been persuaded to stay on until the New Year.

Johnson is already reeling from a rebellion by 100 of his MPs in a parliamentary vote over coronavirus measures and the stunning loss of a 23,000-majority seat in a by-election.

That was partly blamed on a slew of reports that his staff and aides had held parties last Christmas despite virus restrictions in place at the time.

‘Running out of time’ 

The by-election loss for Johnson’s Conservatives intensified speculation of a leadership challenge.

Frost recently came second in a poll of most popular ministers held by ConservativeHome, an influential blog read by the grassroot Tories who could end up deciding Johnson’s replacement.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News on Sunday that Frost was “an outstanding public servant”, adding that “I do understand his reasons, he’s a principled man, you know, principled people do resign from the government”.

The deputy leader of the main opposition Labour Party Angela Rayner said the resignation demonstrated “a government in total chaos”.

“@BorisJohnson isn’t up to the job. We deserve better than this buffoonery,” she tweeted.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen warned Johnson was “running out of time and out of friends to deliver on the promises and discipline of a true Conservative government”.

“Lord Frost has made it clear, 100 Conservative backbenchers have made it clear, but most importantly so did the people of North Shropshire,” he wrote on Twitter.

And Arlene Foster, who stepped down as Northern Ireland’s first minister because of post-Brexit trading arrangements in the UK territory, said it had huge implications.

“The resignation of Lord Frost from the Cabinet is a big moment for the Government but enormous for those of us who believed he would deliver for NI,” she wrote on Twitter.

‘Turning point’ 

Frost told Johnson in his resignation letter: “I hope we will move as fast as possible to where we need to get to: A lightly regulated, low-tax, entrepreneurial economy.

“We also need to learn to live with COVID and I know that is your instinct too,” he said, in apparent reference to the new measures introduced by the government last week.

“I hope we can get back on track soon and not be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere,” he added.

The series of crises engulfing Johnson have seen him garner increasingly negative coverage in Britain’s right-wing press that is usually favourable to his leadership and his party.

The Daily Telegraph, the newspaper where Johnson used to work as a correspondent and columnist, called Frost’s resignation “courageous” and a “turning point in the history of this administration” in an editorial reacting to his departure.

Frost had been locked in talks for weeks over the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs trade between the British mainland of England, Scotland and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland, and with the European Union.

He was especially focused on revamping the agreement’s governance, objecting that the EU’s highest court in Luxembourg has power over its implementation.

He seemed to be at odds with Johnson’s administration over the issue earlier in the week, when a government spokesman appeared to suggest there could be some softening on its position on the EU’s role as arbiter.

Frost, 56, was appointed as Johnson’s so-called EU “sherpa” shortly after the British leader took office in July 2019, and became chief trade negotiator after helping to finalise last year’s divorce deal.