Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that MPs trying to halt a no-deal Brexit are making the scenario “more likely”, as opposition parties gear up to legislate against the government’s move of proroguing Parliament.
The PM has said Britain will leave the bloc “do or die” on 31 October, and that he is willing to leave without a deal if it comes to it. But he said today MPs who try to block a no-deal scenario are damaging his chances of getting a deal with the EU.
“The best way to [work out a new withdrawal agreement] is if our friends and partners over the channel don’t think that Brexit can be somehow blocked by Parliament,” the PM told the BBC.
“As long as they think in the EU that parliament might … succeed in blocking Brexit, the less likely they are to give us the deal we want.
“The weird thing is, the more the parliamentarians try to block a no-deal Brexit, the more likely it is that we’ll end up in that situation.”
Earlier this week, the Queen granted the Prime Minister’s request to suspend parliament for nearly five weeks, reducing the amount of time MPs will sit before the Brexit deadline.
The move has put further pressure on an already tight timeframe, making it tougher for pro-Remain MPs to stop a no-deal Brexit.
Meanwhile outside the Commons, former PM John Major has pledged to join Remainer Gina Miller’s judicial review of Boris Johnson’s attempt to prorogue parliament.
Major, a fierce critic of Brexit, will ask the High Court to join Miller’s existing review of Johnson’s decision to prorogue until 14 October.
A Scottish court this morning threw out Miller’s request to temporarily block Johnson’s move.
The judge ruled he was “not satisfied” that a temporary suspension was necessary ahead of a full hearing on 6 September.
