Johnson to tell EU 'talk or expect no-deal Brexit'

The United Kingdom's new prime minister will travel to mainland Europe in the coming days to tell European Union leaders to get back around the negotiating table or see Britain leave the bloc without a divorce deal in place.

On his first trip to the EU as prime minister, Boris Johnson will tell Brussels grandees the UK will leave on Oct 31, with or without a deal.

British voters chose by a narrow margin to leave the bloc in a 2016 referendum but the nation and its politicians have been bitterly divided ever since on whether that referendum result should be honored and, if it is, whether the UK and the EU should remain close after their divorce or go their separate ways.

A tentative divorce deal was worked out between Brussels and London but the British Parliament has resoundingly rejected it thrice and Johnson will not present it to MPs again – he wants a brand new deal or no deal at all.

Johnson has consistently favored leaving the EU emphatically and is expected to reiterate that on his trip.

The BBC reported on Sunday that his spokesman said there is likely to be "very little discussion" of Brexit during the visit to Germany on Wednesday and France on Thursday.

The Sunday Times, meanwhile, reported at the weekend that leaked government documents in its possession warn that a no-deal scenario would be perilous for the UK, with shortages of food, medicine, and fuel likely to follow.

The report says the UK's ports would likely be hit by months of disruption, and that attempts to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland would likely fail.

It also suggested a no-deal separation would likely mean longer waits for medicine, a rise in public disorder, and delays at EU airports, the Eurotunnel, and the Port of Dover.

The government responded by saying it does not set out what is likely to happen but some possible scenarios.

Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng told Sky News:"If we don't get a deal, we have to be prepared to leave without one. That's always been the policy of the government."

And he said the prime minister was focusing on no-deal preparations.

Bob Kerslake, former head of the British civil service, told Radio 4's Broadcasting House that the leaked document was "credible" and noted it "lays bare the scale of the risks we are facing with no-deal Brexit in almost every area".

"These risks are completely insane for this country to be taking and we have to explore every avenue to avoid them," he said.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, has called on members of all political parties who are against the idea of a no-deal Brexit to work together to stop such an eventuality.

He told the Observer newspaper the "simplest and most democratic way to stop no-deal" would be for members of Parliament to install him as an interim prime minister so he can delay Brexit and call a snap general election, during which his opposition Labour Party would campaign for another referendum to be held on the issue.

So-far, Corbyn's offer seems to have received short shrift from MPs, with some saying he is almost as divisive as Brexit.