- Law requires PM to seek a new Brexit delay if no deal is agreed by October 19
- But he has continued to insist the UK will leave on October 31 as planned
- Source said police would have to arrive ‘with a warrant’ to get him out of No 10
Boris Johnson is prepared to spark a major constitutional crisis drawing the Queen into the heart of politics in order to get Brexit done by the end of the month.
The Prime Minister is said to be prepared to ‘squat’ in Downing Street and dare the monarch to fire him if MPs topple his administration in a confidence vote and seek to delay the UK’s exit from the EU.
Under a backbench law passed last month Mr Johnson has to seek a three-month Brexit delay if there is no deal by October 19, and opposition parties are planning to try to topple his administration.
But he has continued to insist that Brexit will happen on Halloween, despite court documents last week admitting he would comply with the Benn Act.
‘Unless the police turn up at the doors of 10 Downing Street with a warrant for the prime minister’s arrest, he won’t be leaving,’ a senior source told the Sunday Times.
Drawing the 93-year-old monarch – who strives to remain apart from frontline politics – into the heart of the Brexit battle would be a move unparalleled in modern times.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick this morning said that the PM would ‘absolutely’ comply with the law, but refused to confirm or deny that he would sign the letter asking for an extension.
Drawing the 93-year-old monarch – who strives to remain apart from frontline politics – into the heart of the Brexit battle would be a move unparalleled in modern times
Under a backbench law passed last month Mr Johnson has to seek a three-month Brexit delay if there is no deal by October 19, and opposition parties are planning to try to topple his administration
He told Sky’s Ridge on Sunday the UK would be leaving on October 31 and ‘we will be doing everything in our power to bring that about’.
‘We’ve said that as any Government would do we will comply with the law… however all of our efforts now are focused on trying to get a deal,’ he said.
‘And we’ve just put forward some, I think, very reasonable and thoughtful proposals to the EU – they try to answer the questions that had dogged the previous deal prepared by Theresa May.’
Pressed again, Mr Jenrick said: ‘The Prime Minister has been very clear that he is not going to extend Article 50 – I don’t think he personally could have been any clearer.
‘We have said that we will comply with the law however what we’re going to do now is work as hard as we possibly can to secure that deal.’
It came as Speaker John Bercow was suggested as a replacement prime minister in a so-called government of national unity (GNU).
The opposition parties remain fractured over who should replace Mr Johnson to seek a Brexit delay if he loses a confidence vote.
Labour is demanding Jeremy Corbyn be installed in no 10 but the Lib Dems will not accept his leadership.
Mr Bercow is the latest of several alternatives to be considered by he is so hated by Brexiteers he is very much an outside bet.
Shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti dismissed the idea that the Speaker could take over.
She said: ‘If I may say so, we are now getting into almost fantasy football. I think it’s unlikely, I really really do.’
In another snub to the Queen Mr Johnson is also said to have avoided apologising to her over the advice he gave her in order to prorogue Parliament last month.
After the advice was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court he expressed ‘regret’ to the monarch.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick this morning said that the PM would ‘absolutely’ comply with the law, but refused to confirm or deny that he would sign the letter asking for an extension
It came as the PM warned of plans to ‘sabotage’ the European Union by vetoing the bloc’s seven-year budget if a deal is not reached by October 31.
Britain will leave the EU in 25 days without a deal unless senior figures agree to compromise. In the case of a delay Mr Johnson will ‘paralyse’ the EU, senior aides revealed.
If Brexit is pushed back after October 31 the leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, could be drafted in as the British Commissioner in Brussels to ‘disrupt’ meetings, reports claim.
Speaker John Bercow has been suggested as a replacement prime minister in a so-called government of national unity (GNU) if Mr Johnson is toppled
Two cabinet ministers told the Sunday Telegraph they were among others backing the more ‘aggressive’ approach to Brussels.
It comes after the EU said Mr Johnson’s proposals for an exit agreement, which include an plan for customs check on the Northern Irish border, did not ‘provide a basis for concluding an agreement’.
But the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier poured scorn on the chances of the new proposal succeeding, reportedly telling an event in Paris: ‘If they do not change, I do not believe, on the basis of the mandate I have been given by the EU27, that we can advance.’
In comments reported by The Observer, he also reiterated the EU’s claim that a no-deal outcome would ‘never be Europe’s choice… it would always be the UK’s choice, not ours’.
The EU lines up to blame Boris Johnson for a No Deal Brexit and insists his deal must ‘change’ after rejecting weekend talks
Brussels’ Brexit point man has warned Boris Johnson that he and the UK Government alone would have to shoulder all the blame for the aftermath of a No Deal Brexit.
Michel Barnier rejected the UK’s latest offer of a deal which sets out a complex plan for the Northern Ireland border, saying the EU needed it to ‘change’.
The European Commission’s top Brexit negotiator, who has proved adept at frustrating efforts to seek a compromise deal, said a deal was still doable.
But speaking at an event organised by the Le Monde newspaper last night he said: ‘We are ready for no-deal, even if we don’t desire it,’ he said.
‘No-deal will never be the choice of the EU. If it happens, it would be Britain’s choice.’
Michel Barnier rejected the UK’s latest offer of a deal which sets out a complex plan for the Northern Ireland border, saying the EU needed it to ‘change’
Britain will leave the EU in 25 days without a deal unless senior figures agree to compromise. In the case of a delay Mr Johnson will ‘paralyse’ the EU, senior aides revealed
Mr Barnier added: ‘If they do not change, I do not believe, on the basis of the mandate I have been given by the EU27, that we can advance.’
It came as the PM warned of plans to ‘sabotage’ the European Union by vetoing the bloc’s seven-year budget if a deal is not reached by October 31.
Britain will leave the EU in 25 days without a deal unless senior figures agree to compromise. In the case of a delay Mr Johnson will ‘paralyse’ the EU, senior aides revealed.
If Brexit is pushed back after October 31 the leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, could be drafted in as the British Commissioner in Brussels to ‘disrupt’ meetings, reports claim.
On Saturday Mr Johnson started phoning his EU counterparts to sell his proposals for a managed withdrawal from the bloc, after the latest plans were given short shrift by Brussels.
European diplomats say London needs to offer a revised, viable way forward before the end of next week, so that any haggling and legalistic work is done before a crucial EU summit on October 17-18.
That high-stakes European Council meeting will determine whether Britain is headed for an agreement, extension, or potentially disastrous no-deal.
Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne – whose country currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency – said he had told Johnson it was ‘important to find a solution within a week’ and the British leader ‘agreed with the timetable’.
Dutch Premier Mark Rutte tweeted he had told Johnson ‘important questions remain about the British proposals’ and ‘there is a lot of work to be done ahead’ of the summit.
Johnson was expected to also call the leaders of other EU countries after talks broke up without progress Friday between a top UK Brexit official, David Frost, and Mr Barnier.
The UK had been keen for discussions to continue through the weekend, but they were set to restart on Monday.
If Brexit is pushed back after October 31 the leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage , could be drafted in as the British Commissioner in Brussels to ‘disrupt’ meetings, reports claim
Latvian prime minister Krisjanis Karins said today that Mr Johnson’s Brexit offer is a ‘basis for negotiations’.
‘I have full trust in the Commission as our negotiator to try to find a good compromise with the UK,’ he told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show.
‘If Mr Johnson is willing to negotiate that’s a very good sign and certainly from Europe’s side we are always looking for a deal that works for everyone.’
Mr Karins said striking a deal was ‘fully dependent on the will of Mr Johnson because from the European side we are always open and looking towards a deal’.
‘If a deal can be found that keeps the single market intact and is not bad for the Republic of Ireland I think it would work for the rest of the EU as well.’
Mr Karins added that the EU ‘doesn’t have a whole lot of wriggle room’ in negotiating a new deal, but said some tweaks were possible.
‘To open up the entire agreement I think that is very unrealistic, certainly in the short time frame.’
He said the PM ‘probably’ could get an extension if it was to help ‘hammer out a deal which is good for everyone’.
‘But just extending for the sake of extension I think there would be quite a bit of debate within the EU.
source:dailymail
