‘Get back to parliament’: heckler to upbeat Boris Johnson

A heckler has interrupted Boris Johnson during a Brexit speech, telling him to ‘get back to parliament’. | WATCH

A heckler has interrupted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a public speech on Brexit, telling the Conservative leader to “get back to parliament” and “sort out the mess you’ve created”.

But Mr Johnson, who has suspended parliament for five weeks by having it prorogued before a Queen’s speech, said he “won’t be deterred” from leaving the EU on October 31.

“There will be ample time for parliament to consider the deal that I very much hope to do at the EU summit,” Mr Johnson said.

The male heckler was removed from the hall in Rotherham in northern England.

Mr Johnson maintains Britain must leave the EU on time in accord with the 2016 referendum, regardless. The outgoing House of Commons Speaker John Bercow on Thursday warned Mr Johnson not to disobey the law by refusing to ask for a Brexit delay if there is no deal in prospect by October, as parliament has voted to demand he must do, and vowed to thwart any attempt to circumvent that legislation.

The MPs passed a law instructing Mr Johnson to seek a deadline extension beyond October 31 if no deal emerges from an October 17-18 EU summit.

Mr Bercow said disobeying the law would set “the most terrible example”.

Boris Johnson during his speech at the Convention of the North at the Magna Centre in Rotherham on Friday local time. The Convention brings together the English north's political, business, community and academic leaders, along with young people’s groups, to make a unified case for investment. Picture: Christopher Furlong/pool/Getty Images

Mr Johnson asked Queen Elizabeth to close the current parliamentary session on Tuesday and reopen it on October 14, claiming the reset was necessary to roll out his domestic agenda.

The unusually long suspension was widely seen as a bid to thwart opposition to a no-deal departure, and provoked uproar across the political spectrum as well as legal challenges.

Mr Johnson said Friday he was “cautiously optimistic” about striking a Brexit deal ahead of his first face-to-face talks with EU chiefs next week.

He is due to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Luxembourg on Monday.

Mr Johnson’s upbeat tone on striking a divorce deal with the EU in time for Britain’s scheduled October 31 departure date is in marked contrast with the mood music from Brussels.

The British pound gained one per cent against the US dollar in Friday trading on speculation that the two sides were edging closer to a compromise over the contentious Irish border issue.

“We’re working incredibly hard to get a deal,” Mr Johnson said during the visit to Rotherham.

“There is the rough shape of a deal to be done.”

On the talks with Mr Juncker and Mr Barnier — the first time Mr Johnson will meet them since he came to power on July 24 — the PM added: “We’ll see where we get.

“I am cautiously optimistic. “Whatever happens, we’ll come out on October 31.”

EU spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said Mr Juncker and Mr Johnson would have a working lunch.

But Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the gap between London and Brussels remained “very wide”.

“We are exploring what is possible”, Mr Varadkar said, adding that “the gap is very wide”. He said he would “fight for and work for” a deal, but “not at any cost”.

The central sticking point is the so-called “backstop” — a compromise intended to keep the UK-Irish border open for trade and crossings in all post-Brexit scenarios.

It was part of the withdrawal agreement struck between Brussels and Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May, but that deal was rejected three times by Britain’s parliament — with the backstop one of the key problems.

Mr Varadkar said that while Dublin had always been willing to explore alternative arrangements, what has been proposed so far “falls very far short” of what is needed.

AFP