Brexit will never end.
Court documents reveal that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will seek an extension of the Brexit deadline from the EU if no withdrawal agreement can be reached by 19 October.
The documents contradict Johnson’s public pronouncements that the UK will leave the European Union on 31 October, regardless of whether a deal has been struck.
Currently, a legal battle is ongoing as to whether the UK government is bound by the Benn Act — a recently passed law that would make it unlawful for the UK government to exit the EU without a deal. On the matter, Johnson has publicly said “we will obey the law, and will come out on 31 October.”
According to SNP MP Joanna Cherry, who initiated the legal action: “What Boris Johnson has told the court through his lawyers directly contradicts what he said to Parliament yesterday. With this PM nothing short of a formal binding undertaking to the court will do.”
Johnson had also previously said that he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than delay Brexit any further.
The court documents have been shared by Jo Maugham, QC, who is also involved in the legal proceedings attempting to tie Johnson to the Benn Act.
Here are the paragraphs Aidan O'Neill QC, Counsel for @DaleVince, @joannaccherry and myself, has just read out. They are from the written case of the Prime Minister and if the Prime Minister promises the court he will comply we need take no further time. Why will he not? pic.twitter.com/YnYLJ0iMhn
— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) October 4, 2019
If the UK seeks another extension, it will be the third such stay. The original Brexit deadline was set for March 2019, and a short extension postponed that deadline until April.
The Northern Ireland backstop remains the key sticking point in Brexit negotiations, with Johnson’s latest proposal for customs checks near the border rejected by the Irish government.
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