Brexit blues said to hit UK diplomats in Brussels as morale declines

Brussels

AS Prime Minister Theresa May prepares for the first time to outline a detailed Brexit plan - 29 weeks after the UK voted to leave the European Union - morale among the 150 British diplomats stationed in Brussels has ebbed.

The staffers, many of whom are dismayed by the government's veiled departure preparations, worry that Mrs May's advisers in London could sideline them in forthcoming negotiations, according to four members of the UK team. They're concerned that would rob Britain of important EU expertise required for a good deal that avoids a disorderly exit.

The resignation earlier this month of Ivan Rogers, Britain's experienced envoy to the EU who rankled some Brexit supporters, was a…