Boris Johnson may delay Brexit, court told

Boris Johnson has told a court he will request a Brexit delay if he fails to strike a deal by October 19.

The EU has rejected Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans. Picture: AFP.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told a court he will request a Brexit delay if he fails to strike a deal with the EU by October 19, according to documents published online on Friday.

Parliament has passed legislation requiring the prime minister to ask the other 27 EU leaders for an extension if no deal emerges from a Brussels summit on October 17-18.

But Mr Johnson is now facing a legal challenge to ensure he does not follow through on his threat to take Britain out of the bloc on October 31 come what may.

Mr Johnson has repeatedly promised to both follow the law and take Britain out by the deadline - a contradictory position prompting speculation the government may have identified a loophole to end its EU membership.

Lawyer Jo Maugham, a key opponent to Brexit and claimant in the case, posted the documents on Twitter on Friday.

He said the government had submitted documents to Scotland’s highest civil court stating that Mr Johnson “accepts that... he will send a letter (asking for an extension) by no later than 19 October 2019” if there is still no new deal.

British media have speculated Mr Johnson could still try to get Brexit done on time by sending a second letter alongside the request, stating he did not want the extension and was only following the law.

Others suggested he could ask one of the EU leaders to veto the extension, which requires unanimous support.

According to the documents submitted to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Mr Johnson says he accepts “he is subject to the public law principle that he cannot frustrate its purpose or the purpose of its provisions.

“Thus he cannot act so as to prevent the letter requesting the specific extension in the act from being sent,” the court document says.

Mr Maugham said despite that the court itself could still decide “to sign the letter for the prime minister” if Mr Johnson still tried to stick to his promise to leave on October 31.

He and others behind the case also want the court to require Mr Johnson to seek an extension to avoid leaving the EU without a deal.

A full hearing would be set for Tuesday if the judge decided to issue a formal ruling in the case, Mr Maugham said.

Brussels had earlier given Boris Johnson one week to make his Brexit plan acceptable or European Union leaders will refuse to discuss it at a crucial summit this month.

This new ultimatum, along with fundamental EU objections to his alternative to the Irish backstop, means Mr Johnson is highly unlikely to reach a deal in time for his October 31 Brexit deadline.

European ambassadors set the October 11 cut-off date on Thursday night (Friday AEST) after Michel Barnier, the EU’s lead Brexit negotiator, told them that the government needed to “fundamentally amend its position” before formal negotiations could take place.

“We will have to make a judgment call at the end of next week with regard to deciding if it’s possible to have a deal in time for the European Council on October 17,” one ambassador said.

Mr Johnson will take his case to European capitals next week.

While keeping the door open for technical-level talks to continue, key EU figures lined up on Thursday to signal that Britain’s negotiating strategy was falling apart.

In a curious turning of the tables, it was the European parliament, rather than the House of Commons crying foul amidst claims Mr Johnson’s reworked plan would leave them with a significant hole in their single market and concerns they would be agreeing to a deal without knowing its full implications and without any guarantee as to its legal operation.

A statement issued by the parliament Brexit committee, chaired by chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, said the proposal in its present form could not be the basis for talks.

“This is unacceptable,” the statement said.

Donald Tusk, European Council president, said after speaking to Mr Johnson by phone: “We remain open but still unconvinced,” while Norbert Rottgen, chairman of the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee, which usually reflects the position of Angela Merkel, warned a deal would not be done in time for Mr Johnson’s October 31 deadline.

As the blame game intensified over who is at fault for the disastrous developments, concerns over the Irish backstop spilled over in a tense exchange of words between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland leaders.

Ireland’s deputy prime minister Simon Coveney said Mr Johnson’s plan had “fundamental problems,” adding: “If that is the final proposal there will be no deal.”

In response, Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster accused Mr Coveney of “paving the road” for a no deal Brexit.

“Simon Coveney’s remarks are deeply unhelpful, obstructionist and intransigent,” said Ms Foster. “Mr Coveney’s rejection of a reasonable offer is paving the road for a no deal exit because unionism will not allow Northern Ireland to be trapped at the whim of Dublin or the EU. We will not buy that.’’

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar caused more concern, saying Ireland might “have to live witha no-deal for a period of time,” and that the majority of British wanted to remain in the EU.

Mr Varadkar said “all the polls” since Mr Johnson became Prime Minister showed the UK wanted to stay in Europe, but “their political system isn’t able to give them that choice”.

The DUP described his comments as “incendiary and outrageous” and said they “exposed the reality” that the Irish government’s true intention was to keep Britain in the EU.

Mr Johnson will embark on a tour of Europe capitals this weekend in an attempt to persuade leaders a deal can still be worked out before the deadline.

But he faces an uphill struggle. Mr Verhofstadt questioned whether the Downing Street document was a serious compromise and insisted the EU had already compromised in the original Withdrawal Agreement .

Mr Tusk had similar sentiments, tweeting: “Today I had two phone calls on #Brexit, first with Dublin then with London. My message to Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar: We stand fully behind Ireland. My message to PM @BorisJohnson: We remain open but still unconvinced.’’

Once again the very conundrum of Brexit - a lack of trust - has become central to the lack of progress despite Britain’s changing dynamic of having a prime minister who is, on the surface at least, presenting ideas and considerations that the EU has been demanding for some time.

The EU bureaucrats in the Brexit Steering Group said they had grave concerns about Mr Johnson’s plans, without moving from their own entrenched position that has been rejected by Westminster on three occasions.

“Safeguarding peace and stability on the island of Ireland, protection of citizens and EU’s legal order has to be the main focus of any deal,’’ the group said in a written statement.

“The UK proposals do not match even remotely what was agreed as a sufficient compromise in the backstop.’’

Mayor of London, Labour’s Sadiq Khan claimed Mr Johnson had presented a fancy plan designed to fail so that he could blame the EU for the failure of talks.

With The Times, AFP