Brexit: Boris Johnson 'will seek extension if no withdrawal deal agreed in time'

UK prime minister Boris Johnson will send a letter to the EU asking for a Brexit delay if no divorce deal has been agreed by 19 October, according to government papers submitted to the Court of Session in Scotland, Report informs.

Last month, opposition lawmakers and rebels from Johnson’s Conservative Party forced through the “Benn Act” requiring him to delay Britain’s departure from the EU if he has not agreed a withdrawal treaty in the next two weeks, to prevent what they say will be a calamitous no-deal Brexit.

Johnson has promised he will abide by that law, which he has called “the surrender act”, but also vowed that he would not ask for any delay and that Britain will leave the EU, “do or die”, on Oct. 31, failing to explain the apparent contradiction.

Opponents suspect he will seek some kind of legal escape route or seek to pressure the EU into refusing to agree to an extension request.

The Prime Minister’s office does not comment on the situation, explaining that the trial has not yet been completed.