Sir Philip Dilley has quit his role as chairman of the Environment Agency following intense media scrutiny over his holiday in Barbados during the Christmas floods.
In a resignation letter addressed to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affair Liz Truss, Dilley said the role now requires someone to be available at short notice throughout the year - an expectation he described as "inappropriate" and one said he was unable to commit to.
"My reason for resigning is that the expectations of the role have expanded to require the chairman to be available at short notice throughout the year, irrespective of routine arrangements for deputy and executive cover. In my view this is inappropriate in a part-time non-executive position, and this is something I am unable to deliver," he said.
Sir Dilley has been under sustained media pressure to resign over his decision not to return immediately from Barbados when Storm Eva hit on Christmas Eve. He described the scrutiny as "unacceptable" and a distraction from the government's flood defence response.
"Furthermore the media scrutiny focused on me is diverting attention from the real issue of helping those whose homes and businesses have flooded, as well as the important matter of delivering a long-term flood defence strategy. This same media attention has also affected and intruded on my immediate family, which I find unacceptable," he said.
Truss thanked Sir Dilley for his work as chairman. "He has ably led the Environment Agency through some challenging times and leaves it a much better organisation, as shown in its excellent response to the recent flooding, which saw staff working around the clock to protect and help thousands of people across the country," she said in a statement.
The current deputy chairman, Emma Howard Boyd, will step in as acting chairman while a permanent replacement is recruited.
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