No-deal Brexit will be a failure, says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson speaks in Dublin, Ireland, on Monday. Pic/AFP

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, facing staunch opposition at home, told Ireland's leader Monday that a new Brexit deal can be reached so Britain leaves the European Union (EU) by the October 31 deadline.

Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin, Johnson said a deal on the Irish border question can be secured in time to enable a smooth British departure from the EU by the scheduled Brexit date. He said a no-deal departure from the EU would represent a "failure of statecraft" and that all sides would bear a responsibility for that.

Johnson has said he will take Britain out of the EU on October 31 even without a deal, but Parliament has passed a bill that would force him to seek a delay from the EU if no deal has been agreed.

Meanwhile, Varadkar said the EU had not received from Britain any alternatives to the so-called backstop provision in the Brexit divorce deal. "We haven't received such proposals to date," he said. "No backstop is no deal," he added, noting the meeting with Johnson was "an opportunity to see where there might be common ground".'

The backstop is a provision in the withdrawal agreement Theresa May struck with Brussels to keep the Irish border open regardless of the outcome of UK's future relationship with the EU. It would keep the country in the bloc's customs union until a long-term solution to trade terms is agreed.

Oct 31
Day the United Kingdom will leave the European Union

'Queen approves Brexit delay law'

Queen Elizabeth II has given her formal approval to a law that would force the government to delay Brexit if it is not able to strike a divorce deal with Brussels, the House of Lords said on Monday. "EUWithdrawal6Bill receives Royal Assent," the upper chamber said on Twitter, referring to the newly passed law. Meanwhile, the month-long suspension of the British parliament ordered by PM Boris Johnson in an apparent bid to stop MPs blocking his Brexit strategy will begin late Monday. "Parliament will be prorogued at close of business today," Johnson's spokesman said, using the parliamentary term for the suspension.

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