BORIS Johnson has “no plan” for what will happen if he is stopped from leaving the EU without a deal on October 31, a Cabinet minister has revealed.
Robert Jenrick, Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary for England, said meeting the Halloween deadline is the “sole focus” of the Government.
The PM has insisted the UK will leave on October 31, even though he is legally required to request an extension if there’s no agreement on a withdrawal deal by October 19.
Appearing on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Jenrick said the Cabinet will do “absolutely everything in our power” to meet the exit deadline.
READ MORE: Michael Russell: Here's the proof Boris Johnson doesn't want Brexit deal
He said: “We have no plan as to what might happen if parliament doesn’t allow us to get Brexit done on October 31 because we intend to get it done on that date and that’s the sole focus of this government at the moment.”
The comments are in possible contradiction with remarks given by Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay on The Andrew Marr Show, in which he appeared to confirm that the Government will send a letter to the EU requesting a Brexit delay if a deal has not been agreed by October 19, in accordance with an assurance given to Scotland’s Supreme Court by government lawyers.
Barclay said: “If a commitment is given to the court, you abide by it.”
The Johnson ally insisted the Tory administration plans to enter “intensive negotiations” with Brussels – and confirmed discussions with opposition MPs are underway in a bid to secure support for the PM’s Brexit blueprint.
On talks with Remain-backing MPs, he said: “I think many members of Parliament want to avoid No-Deal.
“Particularly those members of Parliament in Leave constituencies who have voted against No-Deal and voted against a deal three times, then they will need to be able to address this issue when they return to their electorate.”
But Labour’s Lisa Nandy, who represents Leave-backing Wigan, said there was currently no deal for her to either reject or support.
She stated: “What we’ve got is a proposal which stands virtually no chance of being accepted by the EU which creates two borders on the island of Ireland which is completely incompatible with existing international law and which rips up the workers’ rights and protections and the environmental protections that we spent several months at the start of this year negotiating with the former prime minister.
“I would vote for a deal, but this is not a deal.
“This is a pre-election party-political broadcast from the Prime Minister and the truth is that for all of the talk about getting Brexit done, we are further away from achieving a deal than we were two months ago when he became Prime Minister.”
Writing in the Sun on Sunday, Johnson described his blueprint for an agreement as a “practical compromise that gives ground where necessary”, adding that the UK is “jumping to the island in the middle of the river”.
The former journalist wrote: “If we’re to leave with a deal, we now need the EU to jump over from its side and join us there, showing its own willingness to do a deal that the UK Parliament can support.”
However, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (below, right) has questioned the likelihood that the new plan will succeed, 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 newspaper, Barnier also reiterated the EU’s claim that a No-Deal outcome would “never be Europe’s choice”.
He said: “It would always be the UK’s choice, not ours”.
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