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MPs are set to launch a fresh bid to block a no-deal Brexit as Boris Johnson insisted that he is not bluffing over his commitment to take the UK out of the EU without a deal.
The Government has tabled a Bill on Monday to delay any new election to the Northern Ireland Assembly while talks to restore powersharing are ongoing.
Speaking to the BBC, former attorney general Dominic Grieve said this Bill was a “perfectly legitimate place” to explore ways to block a no-deal Brexit.
He told Pienaar’s Politics: “We’re going to have, in the course of the next 24 hours, an important bill on Northern Ireland.
“Northern Ireland and Brexit go rather closely together.
“The chances are, if Brexit goes through – a no-deal Brexit – it is going to be the end of Northern Ireland’s union with the United Kingdom, with serious political consequences flowing from it.
“That’s a Bill that is a perfectly legitimate place to start looking at how one might make sure no-deal Brexits are fully debated before they take place.”
It came after Tory leadership frontrunner Mr Johnson said the EU had to “look deep into our eyes” and realise that the UK was prepared to walk away.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, he added: “We were pretty much ready on March 29. And we will be ready by October 31.
“And it’s vital that our partners see that. They have to look deep into our eyes and think ‘my god, these Brits actually are going to leave. And they’re going to leave on those terms’.
“Everybody who says ‘I can’t stand the idea of a no-deal Brexit’, what they really mean is actually they don’t want to leave at all.”
However former Tory leadership hopeful Sam Gyimah said today that more than 30 of the party’s own MPs could vote against a no-deal Brexit.
It comes as Labour hinted it would move towards moving a no-confidence motion in the Government if it looked likely a no-deal exit was going to happen.
Speaking on Sky News, the former education minister said there are a “significant number” of Tory MPs who are looking at legislative options to block a no-deal Brexit.
He added: “I think it is about 30, 30-plus. But what they will be looking to do is stop a no prime minister from proroguing Parliament in order to deliver no deal.
“But also create options for the new prime minister so that no deal is not the only option we face on October 31.”
