UK's secretary of state for Northern Ireland resigns

British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire resigned from cabinet on Monday citing health issues and an upcoming major surgery.

In his resignation letter, the secretary of state said he would go under surgery to get a legion from his lung removed. Prime Minister Theresa May responded with a letter saying she was sorry to hear about the medical situation, and "very much" looked forward to working alongside him again when he was back to full health.

The resignation comes on a day of cabinet reshuffle by May.

Brokenshire has served as the Northern Ireland secretary since July 2016 and been one of the key figures in negotiations between the two largest parties of the U.K. region, the Democratic Unionist Party and SinnFein since the election last March which was held after the collapse of the power-sharing government over a botched energy scheme.

Brokenshire, who has been a close ally to the prime minister, also took a major part in Brexit negotiations with the EU and the Republic of Ireland over the post-Brexit Irish border-a key issue in the first phase of the talks.