UK government says Brexit department to close after Jan. 31

LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Britain’s Brexit department will be closed down once the country leaves the European Union at the end of January, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

The Department for Exiting the European Union was originally set up in July 2016 to oversee Britain’s negotiations to leave the EU and establish a future relationship with the bloc. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, editing by William James)