No10 says Brexit will happen on October 31 'whatever the circumstances'

Rebels vow to find a way to block No Deal Pound falls further as No Deal Brexit fears increase
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Downing Street said today that Britain will quit the EU on October 31 “whatever the circumstances” as a Cabinet minister argued that rebel Tory MPs can no longer stop a no-deal.

No10 insisted that six Bills, previously seen as key for an orderly exit from the EU, would not be needed in the event of no deal. “The UK will be leaving the EU on October 31 whatever the circumstances, there are no ifs or buts,” said the Prime Minister’s official spokesman.

Earlier, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he believed former chancellor Philip Hammond and other opponents of crashing out could now not prevent such a potentially chaotic departure from the EU.

As the Government dug in with its “do or die” approach:

  • Sterling fell amid growing no-deal fears, further increasing the cost of summer holidays for Britons heading to the Continent.

  • A poll showed Scots now want to break away from the rest of the UK, by 52 to 48 per cent.

  • Figures for the giant services sector were slightly better than City expectations but showed the UK was “only just managing to skirt recession”.

  • Car sales fell again last month amid the Brexit uncertainty.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited a hospital in Lincolnshire today as the Government announced £1.8 billion of NHS spending, including £850 million for 20 hospital upgrades, with two in London.

The health expenditure increased talk in Westminster of a general election amid speculation that Mr Johnson’s top adviser Dominic Cummings could seek to frame it as a “people versus Parliament” campaign.

Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson visiting the hospital together 
AP

The Commons has voted several times to stop a no-deal exit and Mr Hammond and other senior Tory MPs are determined to avoid a situation that they believe would severely damage the economy and cost thousands of jobs.

Downing Street, though, stressed that trust had to be “restored in democracy” and the “repeated promises of Parliament” on quitting the EU had to be fulfilled.

The PM’s spokesman said: “Politicians cannot choose which votes to respect. They promised to respect the referendum result and we must do so.”

However, he repeatedly refused to be drawn on what the Government would do if MPs voted against no-deal, saying it was a “hypothetical” question.

“The legal default, as put in place by Parliament, is that we will be leaving on October 31,” he added.

Seeking to push the six bills on immigration, fisheries and other sectors through the Commons could allow MPs to table amendments to block an EU crash-out.

But the spokesman said: “None of the exit bills currently before Parliament are needed ahead of exit day in the event that we don’t leave with an agreement. There are some statutory instruments that may be necessary and we will bring them forward in good time. We have an existing immigration act that can be used.“

Pressed on whether he believed the Commons could still stop a no-deal, Mr Hancock told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I now don’t think it can.”

Mr Hancock cited rebels failing in the Commons to restrict that outcome during the Tory leadership campaign. However, some Tory MPs who strongly oppose no-deal did not rebel earlier because they did not want to tie the hands of the future prime minister before he had taken office.

He also stopped short of ruling out Britain leaving the EU with no agreement in the middle of a general election campaign, saying: “I don’t want to see that ... I want to get on running the NHS.” On the prospect of an election, Mr Hancock added: “I don’t want one, I don’t think we need one.”

The pound was down more than half a cent against the dollar in early trading before recovering to stand at $1.2160 by early afternoon. The currency also shed more than half a cent against the euro to just under €1.09.

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