LONDON (AP) - The Latest on Brexit (all times local):
6:15 p.m.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he doesn’t want an election and has urged legislators not to undercut Britain’s negotiating position with the European Union.
Johnson said in a brief televised address Monday that there are “no circumstances” under which he would accept a delay to Brexit, which is scheduled for Oct. 31.
He said a parliamentary move to limit his options and seek another Brexit delay would “chop the legs” out of Britain’s negotiating position.
The prime minister insists the prospects for a new deal with EU leaders are rising because EU officials know Britain has a clear vision of what it wants.
He spoke on the eve of a potential revolt in Parliament over his willingness to leave the EU even without a deal in place. Rebels seek a three-month delay.
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5:55 p.m.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s opponents plan to take the U.K. out of the European Union on Oct. 31 with or without a deal have published a draft of legislation designed to prevent this from taking place.
Labour Party legislator Hilary Benn tweeted the text Monday afternoon. He says “the purpose of the bill is to ensure that the UK does not leave the European Union on the 31 October without an agreement, unless Parliaments consents.”
Johnson’s opponents are planning to introduce the bill in Parliament on Tuesday during an emergency Brexit debate.
Benn says the bill gives Johnson’s government the time to either reach a new agreement with the EU at the European Council meeting next month or to seek Parliament’s approval for leaving without a deal.
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5:45 p.m.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has summoned his senior ministers to his Downing Street office on eve of a key effort in Parliament to delay a no-deal Brexit.
Johnson is expected to speak afterward, fueling speculation that he may indicate that he will seek an early election, hoping to take his message the people and seize the initiative from his opponents to deliver Britain’s departure from the European Union.
Opposition parties are pledging to challenge Johnson’s policy that the U.K. will leave the EU on Oct. 31 even if there is no deal. The parliamentary effort Tuesday is critical, because it will force lawmakers to choose whether or not they are prepared to accept a Brexit without a deal.
A no-deal Brexit is considered dangerous because it will sever decades of seamless trade with the EU, Britain’s largest trading partner
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2:50 p.m.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan says he’s outraged that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shut down Parliament for several weeks and he hopes all parties will come together to stop a no-deal departure from the European Union.
Khan said, “It’s an outrage that the British prime minister has chosen to shut down parliament because he’s worried about members of parliament challenging his decision in relation to leaving the EU without a deal on the 31st of October.”
He spoke in Warsaw at a news conference Monday alongside Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.
Khan commemorated the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II on Sunday in Gdansk, where Germany carried out one of its first attacks on Poland, and Monday in Warsaw, where he paid tribute at a memorial to Jews who fought and died in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Khan said he hoped politicians would “put aside their natural party allegiances and work together to stop this prime minister” from a no-deal Brexit.
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2:10 p.m.
Scotland’s first minister says she’s all for a general election, provided that it takes place before Britain is set to leave the European Union on Oct. 31.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called a meeting of his Cabinet on Monday to weigh a response to the possibility that lawmakers will introduce a measure in House of Commons to block a no-deal Brexit.
Speculation abounds that Johnson will call an election soon if he loses the vote in Parliament, but attempt to set a date sometime after the country is set to leave the EU.
Sturgeon tweeted that “as talk of a General Election mounts, I say ’bring it on’…but it must be before Oct 31. MPs must not allow Johnson to game the date as a ploy to push through a no deal Brexit.”
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12 p.m.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is urging opposition parties in Britain’s House of Commons to join together, saying the events in Parliament this week may be the last opportunity to stop a no-deal Brexit.
Corbyn offered few details Monday on how exactly Parliament might approach the legislation designed to stop departure from the European Union without a deal.
He says that Labour is “working with other parties to do everything necessary to pull our country back from the brink.”
Corbyn, the leader of the main opposition party, says that a no-deal Brexit would put U.K. public services “at the mercy” of big business in the United States as Britain would be in a rush to strike a trade deal with America to replace trade with the EU single market.
He says that “unless we stop Johnson’s government now, it is a headlong rush into the arms of Donald Trump.”
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11:05 a.m.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned that politicians face a critical juncture in history as they prepare to consider legislation meant to prevent the country from leaving the European Union without a deal.
Speaking at the Institute for Government on Monday, Blair appealed to lawmakers to recognize that in modern British history, “there’s never been a more important moment for politicians to put country before tribe and national interest before self-interest.”
Blair’s comments come as the House of Commons prepares to return from summer recess Tuesday and lawmakers are expected to try to pass a bill to block a no-deal Brexit, either by requesting an extension from the EU or some other means.
Time is short before the Oct. 31 withdrawal deadline.
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10 a.m.
British Prime Minster Boris Johnson is getting tough with members of his Conservative Party who oppose his Brexit plans.
The so-called “rebels” are being warned that they will be suspended from the party if they take part in efforts led by opposition parties in Parliament meant to block a departure from the European Union without a deal.
Lawmakers are returning from their summer recess this week for a brief session that promises to be a dramatic week in British politics.
They are pledging to challenge Johnson’s policy that the U.K. will leave the EU on Oct. 31, even if there is no deal. Without such a deal, Britain faces a chaotic Brexit that economists warn would disrupt trade by imposing tariffs and customs checks between Britain and the bloc.
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