- 5 minutes ago
- EU Referendum
The UK's European Commissioner Lord Hill is to stand down, saying "what is done cannot be undone" after the UK voted to leave the European Union.
In a statement, he said he did not believe it was right for him to carry on with his work as the commissioner in charge of financial services.
But he will stay on for a period of weeks to ensure an orderly handover.
A close ally of Prime Minister David Cameron, Lord Hill had argued for the UK to remain in the EU.
Lord Hill's announcement comes Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would be seeking "immediate discussions" with Brussels to "protect Scotland's place in the EU" after the UK voted to leave.
Ms Sturgeon has said a new Scottish independence referendum was "highly likely".
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'New relationship'
European Commissioners are among the most powerful officials in Brussels, with the ability to make laws across a range of policy areas, but the UK will cease to have one when it leaves the EU.
In a statement, Conservative peer Lord Hill said: "Like many people here and in the UK, I am obviously very disappointed about the result of the referendum.
"I wanted it to end differently and had hoped that Britain would want to play a role in arguing for an outward-looking, flexible, competitive, free trade Europe. But the British people took a different decision, and that is the way that democracy works."
He added: "I came to Brussels as someone who had campaigned against Britain joining the euro and who was sceptical about Europe. I will leave it certain that, despite its frustrations, our membership was good for our place in the world and good for our economy.
"But what is done cannot be undone and now we have to get on with making our new relationship with Europe work as well as possible."
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