The UK's ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers,
has resigned.
Sir Ivan, appointed to the job by David Cameron
in 2013, had been expected to play a key role in
Brexit talks expected to start within months.
The government said Sir Ivan had quit early so a
successor could be in place before negotiations
start.
Last month the BBC revealed he had privately
told ministers a UK-EU trade deal might take 10
years to finalise, sparking criticism from some
MPs.
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Ministers have said a deal can be done within
two years.
Labour said Sir Ivan's departure was "deeply
worrying" and Prime Minister Theresa May must
be prepared to listen to "difficult truths" about
the likely complexity of the Brexit process.
The diplomat was due to leave his post in
November.
A government spokeswoman said: "Sir Ivan
Rogers has resigned a few months early as UK
permanent representative to the European Union.
"Sir Ivan has taken this decision now to enable a
successor to be appointed before the UK invokes
Article 50 by the end of March. We are grateful for
his work and commitment over the last three
years."
Analysis - by Kevin Connolly, BBC Europe
correspondent
The official UK statement announcing the
departure of Sir Ivan Rogers makes it sound like a
routine piece of bureaucratic house-keeping -
bringing forward the departure of the current
incumbent to give his successor time to get his
teeth into Brexit.
It seems certain there's more to it than that.
Sir Ivan endured an uncomfortable time at the
last EU summit in December after his confidential
advice to the government about Brexit potentially
taking 10 years was leaked to the BBC. No
ambassador relishes "becoming the story" in that
way.
There's a sense in Brussels that he may have
been seen as a pessimist by cabinet Brexiteers
because it fell to him to convey the hostility and
scepticism with which other governments view
Brexit.
One British insider here, though, called him a key
adviser who'd be a huge loss.
Whoever replaces him faces one of the trickiest
British diplomatic assignments of modern times.
Prime Minister Theresa May says she will trigger
formal talks between the UK and the EU by the
end of March, setting in place a two-year
negotiation process.
Sir Ivan is a veteran civil servant whose previous
roles include private secretary to ex-chancellor
Ken Clarke, principal private secretary to ex-PM
Tony Blair and Mr Cameron's Europe adviser.
He was criticised in some quarters for
"pessimism" over Brexit after his advice to
ministers - which he said reflected what the 27
member states were saying - was reported.
Pro-EU figures raised concern about the impact of
Sir Ivan's departure, while Brexit campaigners
welcomed his decision. Former Lib Dem leader
Nick Clegg, who once worked for Sir Ivan in
Brussels, described his resignation as a "body
blow to the government's Brexit plans".
He added: "If the reports are true that he has
been hounded out by hostile Brexiteers in
government, it counts as a spectacular own
goal."
Labour MP Hilary Benn, who chairs the Brexit
select committee, said it had come at a "crucial"
point and urged the government to "get its skates
on" in finding a replacement. "It couldn't be a
more difficult time to organise a handover," he
added.
Mr Benn told BBC Radio 4's The World at One the
permanent representative's job was to convey the
view of the UK to other member states, as well as
"honestly and fearlessly reporting back" what
those countries in turn said about the
negotiations.
But former Conservative cabinet minister John
Redwood said Sir Ivan had made a "very wise
decision", saying his leaked advice suggested he
did "not really have his heart in" Brexit, believing
it to be "very difficult and long-winded".
He said the new ambassador should be someone
"who thinks it's straightforward".
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he
welcomed Sir Ivan's resignation, adding: "The
Foreign Office needs a complete clear-out."
But former chancellor George Osborne said Sir
Ivan was a "perceptive, pragmatic and patriotic
public servant" while the Treasury's former top
civil servant, Lord Macpherson - who is now a
crossbench peer - said his departure marked a
"wilful" and "total destruction" of EU expertise
within Whitehall.
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