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Confusion As Johnson, Parliament Disagree over Brexit Deadline

 

It is now uncertain if and when Britain will leave the European Union after the British Parliament  turned down Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s proposal forcing him to send an unsigned letter to the European Union requesting a further delay to Britain’s exit from the bloc.

The prime minister earlier said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than ask for any extension after  the October deadline but was forced to request the extension on Saturday

 

A law known as the “Benn Act” passed in September 2019 by opponents of the exit deal, requires the prime minister to send a letter to the EU asking to extend the deadline by three months if no deal was agreed by the October deadline.

Report says prime minister Johnson sent three letters to the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk;  the letter requesting a delay to Brexit, a cover note from Britain’s EU envoy explaining that government was simply obeying the law; and a third letter stating the Prime Minister’s opposition to an extension.

“I have made clear since becoming Prime Minister and made clear to parliament again today, my view, and the Government’s position, that a further extension would damage the interests of the UK and our EU partners, and the relationship between us,” Johnson said in the third letter.

In the letter,  Prime Minister Johnson expressed optimism that his government would get the British Parliament’s approval for the Brexit deal legislation before the October 31deadline.

Meanwhile, president of EU council, Tusk has acknowledged receipt of the request from Johnson.

“I will now start consulting EU leaders on how to react,” he twitted.

 

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