Boris Johnson claims odds of No Deal Brexit are a 'million to one'

The odds of a No Deal Brexit are “a million to one”, Boris Johnson declared last night.

The frontrunner to be Prime Minister made a comment that could soon come back to haunt him as he took part in a Tory leadership hustings last night.

It comes after Mr Johnson promised the UK will leave the EU on October 31, “do or die”, with or without a deal.

So his latest comment suggests he believes he has a 999,999 in a million chance of getting a deal by Halloween .

That is despite the EU already saying it will not consider his demand to reopen the 585-page Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

Mr Johnson told a digital Tory leadership hustings: “It is vital that we are prepare for a no-deal outcome if we are going to get the deal that we need.

“I don’t think that is where we are going to end up, I think it is a million-to-one against.”

The comment will raise fears about whether Boris Johnson can be trusted on his pledges.

The runaway favourite for Prime Minister also left open the option of shutting Parliament so MPs can’t block No Deal.

While he said he was “not attracted” to the idea of “proroguing” parliament, he said it was essential that MPs finally delivered on the result of the 2016 EU referendum.

“I am not attracted to archaic devices like proroguing,” he said.

“Let’s get this thing done as a proud representative democracy that asked the people of this country a question, that received a very clear answer, that promised faithfully to put that answer into effect and now we have got to do it.”

Mr Johnson was sent a dire warning over No Deal Brexit today by the foreign minister of Japan.

Taro Kono said his country is concerned a no-deal Brexit could disrupt supply chains for Japanese companies in the UK.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Whenever we have had meetings that was the issue – please no no-deal Brexit.

“Whatever they do is up to the UK Government, we just don’t want to have a negative impact on the foreign companies operating in the UK, including the Japanese.”

Meanwhile Remain-backing MPs are planning a new bid to block No Deal by starving any government that backs it of cash.

Tory Dominic Grieve and former Labour Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett have tabled amendments to routine finance legislation – “estimates” – that was set to be nodded through the Commons on July 2.

If the amendments are passed, the new PM will be forced to seek permission for No Deal on October 31 or have spending cut off.

“The suggestion that we could or should be taken out of the EU without the consent of the House of Commons is fundamentally wrong, and frankly unconstitutional,” Mr Grieve told The Sun.