Boris Johnson, Tory favourite to become next UK leader, says Brexit will happen on October 31 ‘do or die’

Boris Johnson, the Tory front runner to become Britain’s next prime minister, has pledged that the UK will leave the European Union on October 31, “do or die”, as he promised to push for a no-deal Brexit if this was needed to meet the departure deadline.

Johnson told TalkRadio that tweaks to the withdrawal agreement or political declaration agreed by Theresa May with the EU would not be enough.

“I mean more than a change,” he said. “We need a new withdrawal agreement – if we’re going to go out on the basis of a withdrawal agreement.”

During the initial stage of the leadership process, the former foreign secretary was accused of giving different messages to different Tory MPs, telling Brexiters that an October 31 departure date was definite, but being more vague with others.

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But he was adamant in the interview, saying: “We are getting ready to come out on 31 October. Come what may.” Asked to confirm this, he added: “Do or die. Come what may.”

In an earlier interview on LBC radio, Johnson dismissed the idea his Brexit plans could be hampered by Tory rebels, saying the party was “staring down the barrel of defeat” if it did not deliver a departure plan, which would focus minds.

Johnson said he would “disaggregate the elements of the current withdrawal agreement – you need to take the serviceable bits” to seek a new arrangement with the EU, and prepare for a possible no deal as “the other leg of the proposal”.

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He said a no deal would not cause a hard border in Northern Ireland, but gave no details on how this would be avoided beyond the general idea of “maximum facilitation” checks using technology, which would not be ready for several years.

Johnson also argued against the view of the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, that Britain would be hit automatically by tariffs on exports to the EU in a no-deal Brexit, arguing the country could rely on article 24 of the general agreement on tariffs and trade (Gatt).

“He’s wrong in thinking that it’s not an option. It’s certainly an option,” Johnson said, adding: “Let’s be more positive about this. It’s time this country stopped being so down about its ability to get this done.”

QUESTIONS ON DOMESTIC FIGHT ‘WASTE OF TIME’

Amid the blitz of media appearances on Tuesday Johnson failed to shift the subject away from his private life and back to Britain’s pending departure from the EU.

Speaking to LBC, Johnson refused at least half a dozen times to comment on whether his campaign team had passed a photograph of him and his partner to newspapers as a PR strategy amid reports of a domestic incident with his partner that prompted a police visit.

The photo showed him and Carrie Symonds seemingly sitting in the garden of a pub.

Johnson would not answer when LBC host Nick Ferrari, pressed: “This is quite an old picture isn’t it?”

Symonds, a former Conservative Party press officer, has remained firmly out of the public eye since the reported quarrel on Friday.

“The difficulty is that the minute you say one thing you obviously are bringing people, your loved ones, your family, into the public domain in a way that is not fair,” Johnson said.

Asked where the photograph had come from and when it was taken, Johnson said “the longer we spend on things extraneous to what I want to do … the bigger the waste of time”.

LBC host Nick Ferrari pressed on. He said the picture showed Johnson with a hairstyle he no longer wears and suggested it was an old image. Johnson simply refused to answer.

“This conversation is now descending into farce,” he declared.