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BRITAIN-EU-POLITICS-BREXIT
UK’s Johnson ‘sorry’ for Brexit delay
LONDON, Nov 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on
Sunday apologised for not taking Britain out of the European Union by October
31, saying he was “deeply, deeply disappointed”.
“It is a matter of deep regret,” Johnson told Sky News, before
criticising Donald Trump after the US president said the prime minister’s
deal struck with Brussels would prevent a future Britain/US trade agreement.
“I don’t wish to cast any aspersions on the president but in that respect
he is patently in error,” he said.
“Anybody who looks at our deal can see it is a great deal… it allows us
to have full unfettered control of our tariff schedule”.
Trump on Thursday told friend Nigel Farage, who will be up against
Johnson in the December 12 election, that “under certain aspects of the deal
— you can’t do it, you can’t trade.”
Johnson had vowed he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than tolerate
another extension to the tortuous Brexit process, which began in 2016 after a
knife-edge public referendum.
On Sunday he blamed Britain’s failure to leave as scheduled on October 31
on parliament passing what he called the “Surrender Act”.
This demanded that the government ask for, and accept, a delay from the
European Union rather than leaving without the deal being ratified.
MPs gave provisional support for his deal, but derailed Johnson’s plans
to get the bill through parliament before the deadline day, leading him to
push for the December 12 vote to break the impasse.
Farage’s Brexit Party has called for a pact with Johnson’s Conservatives
to avoid splitting the Leave vote, but the prime minister once again ruled it
out.
“I ruled out a pact with everybody because I don’t think that it’s
sensible,” he said.
“What I can say respectfully to the leaders of all other parties is,
alas, the only likely consequence of voting for them, rather than for us as
Conservatives is that you’re making it more likely that you will thereby get
(Labour leader) Jeremy Corbyn”.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1703 hrs