TORY minister James Duddridge will become a backbench MP again after the Brexit department shut down as the UK exited the European Union. 

Mr Duddridge, Tory MP for Rochford and Southend East, was appointed as a minister in the Department for Exiting the European Union in July, 2019. 

He wrote to Boris Johnson resigning from the ministerial role  and Mr Johnson wrote back thanking Mr Duddridge for his work getting Brexit done. 

Now the UK has left the European Union, the department has shut, which means Mr Duddridge now returns to the backbenches. 

He tweeted: "Job done. DExEU closed. Back on the backbenches #BrexitDay.

Mr Duddridge had been an ardent campaigner for Brexit and is a close ally of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. 

He has been working to guide the EU withdrawal agreement bill through Parliament in his role as a Brexit Minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union.

Speaking earlier as the Brexit bill cleared its parliamentary stages, Mr Duddridge said: “We promised we would get Brexit done and that’s exactly what we have done. 
 
“It has been a long journey, but I am proud to have played my part in getting this legislation through Parliament and I look forward to the beginning of this exciting new chapter in our country’s history.”