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Agence France-Presse

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday said that Brussels and anti-Brexit MPs were guilty of a “terrible collaboration” that would force Britain towards a no-deal exit from the European Union.
He accused the EU of taking an uncompromising position towards London because it believes Brexit can be stopped in the British parliament.
Taking questions from the public live on Facebook – a first for a British leader– Johnson said Brussels needed to compromise to stop Britain from leaving the EU without a deal on October 31.
His remarks came after former British finance minister Philip Hammond slammed Johnson’s “wrecking” approach to negotiations, saying that the new PM had set Brussels an impossibly high bar to meet by demanding the complete removal of its fallback provisions.




“There’s a terrible collaboration going on between people who think they can block Brexit in parliament and our European friends,” Johnson said.
“They are not compromising at all on the withdrawal agreement … because they still think that Brexit can be blocked in parliament,” he said. “The awful thing is that the longer that goes on, the more likely it is, of course, that we will be forced to leave with a no-deal Brexit.”
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The British parliament three times rejected the Brexit deal negotiated between Brussels and Johnson’s predecessor as prime minister, Theresa May.
Many MPs were troubled by the “backstop” – a mechanism that would keep Britain in EU customs arrangements to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Johnson said he did not want a no-deal Brexit but that Brussels had to give ground to avoid it.
“The more they think there’s a chance Brexit can be blocked in parliament, the more adamant they are in sticking to their position,” he said.




Earlier, Hammond said a no-deal Brexit would betray Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the EU.
Hammond, who quit as chancellor just hours before Johnson took over from May on July 24, said there was no popular or parliamentary mandate for a no-deal Brexit, saying most people wanted an orderly exit from the EU.
“No-deal would be a betrayal of the 2016 referendum result. It must not happen,” he wrote in The Times newspaper.
Can the United Kingdom’s Liberal Democrats stop Brexit?
He said it could turn Britain into “a diminished and inward-looking little England”.
Hammond said that the shift of position from seeking changes to the backstop to demanding its complete removal “is a pivot from a tough negotiating stance to a wrecking one”.
“This is a demand the EU cannot, and will not, accede to,” he wrote.
“It’s time for our government to demonstrate its commitment to a genuine negotiation with the EU to achieve a deal.”
Hammond said that a no-deal Brexit would risk the breaking up of the UK.
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He also said that if parliament wanted to go down a particular route to prevent a no-deal Brexit, the means would emerge to allow that to happen.
John Bercow, the speaker of parliament’s lower House of Commons, warned separately he would “fight … with every bone in my body” against any attempt by Johnson to suspend parliament to force through no-deal against MPs’ wishes.
The Commons “must have its way”, he told an audience at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, according to The Daily Telegraph newspaper.


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Boris Johnson accuses EU and anti-Brexit MPs of scheming to block exit

British PM Boris Johnson says Brussels needs to compromise to avoid Britain leaving the EU without a deal on October 31. Photo: AP

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Jo Swinson, leader of the Liberal Democrats, poses for a photograph in London, U.K., on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. The U.K. Liberal Democrats elected Swinson leader as the party bids to capitalize on a surge in the polls driven by opposition to Brexit among pro-European voters. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

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Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson outside 10 Downing Street in London. Photo: AFP

Boris Johnson, U.K. prime minister, speaks with King Abdullah II of Jordan, not pictured, during a meeting inside number 10 Downing Street in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. Johnson has made clear he won’t sign up to a Brexit deal that includes the Irish border backstop, the fallback provision negotiated between Brussels and his predecessor, Theresa May, to ensure the U.K.’s land frontier with the EU remains open. Photographer: Will Oliver/Pool via Bloomberg

Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn talks with residents and members of the emergency services in the town of Whaley Bridge in northern England on August 5, 2019 during a visit to see the emergency operation to secure the damaged Toddbrook Reservoir dam and the town. - Emergency services continued to work at a reservoir in central England that threatens to flood an entire town, following further heavy rain. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

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(190725) -- LONDON, July 25, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (L, front) attends a rally at the Parliament Square, calling for a general election, in London, Britain, on July 25, 2019. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Xinhua)

Fear of no-deal Brexit leaves Japanese firms considering a UK exit

Boris Johnson knocks over a Japanese child during an exhibition rugby tournament in Tokyo. Japan has not been bowled over by Britain’s decision to exit the European Union – an idea championed by the new British prime minister. Photo: AP

A car transporter loaded with new Honda vehicles is driven out of the Honda manufacturing plant in Swindon, southwest England on February 19, 2019. - Honda announced Tuesday it would shut a major plant in Britain, putting 3,500 jobs at risk as the auto manufacturer became the latest Japanese firm to downsize operations as Brexit looms. The factory in Swindon, southwest England, is Honda's only EU plant and has produced the manufacturer's "Civic" model for more than 24 years, with 150,000 units rolling off the line annually. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)

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Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (L) and Japanese counterpart Foreign Minister Taro Kono give a joint press conference at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London on December 14, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Kirsty Wigglesworth

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (R) welcomes Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence, near Ellesborough, northwest of London, on April 28, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday welcomed Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe at her country residence of Chequers with security and post-Brexit investments likely to be on the agenda. It is Abe's first visit since May took office in July after the Brexit vote and comes as she campaigns for an increased parliamentary majority for her Conservatives in a snap election on June 8. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Kirsty Wigglesworth

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World

Europe


The British PM said the EU was taking an uncompromising position towards London because it believes Brexit can be stopped in the British parliament



The British PM accused the European Union of taking an uncompromising position towards London because it believes Brexit can be stopped in the British parliament.


Brexit

Britain

European Union

Boris Johnson accuses EU and anti-Brexit MPs of scheming to block exit

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The British PM said the EU was taking an uncompromising position towards London because it believes Brexit can be stopped in the British parliament

The British PM said the EU was taking an uncompromising position towards London because it believes Brexit can be stopped in the British parliament