Sun 20 October 2019:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reluctantly wrote to Brussels late Saturday asking for a Brexit extension after MPs voted to force him into seeking a delay beyond October 31.
The request was accompanied by a second letter, signed by Mr Johnson, saying he believes a delay would be a mistake.
The PM was required by law to ask the EU for an extension to the 31 October deadline after losing a Commons vote.
EU Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that he had received the extension request and would consult EU leaders “on how to react”.
Opposition MPs have warned the PM that if he tries to circumvent Parliament’s instructions to seek a delay, then he may find himself in the law courts.
Mr Johnson previously said he would “rather be dead in a ditch” than ask the EU to delay Brexit, and the UK would leave on 31 October “do or die”.
Hours after losing a crunch vote in a historic Saturday session in the House of Commons, the prime minister ordered a senior diplomat to send an unsigned photocopy of the request for a delay, which was forced on him by MPs last month.
The second letter from Mr Johnson – signed off this time – makes clear he personally believes a delay would be damaging.
It says the government will press on with efforts to pass the revised Brexit deal agreed with EU leaders last week into law, and that he is confident of doing so by 31 October.
A cover note from Sir Tim Barrow, the UK’s representative in Brussels, explained the first letter complied with the law as agreed by Parliament.
Tusk consults EU chiefs
“I will now start consulting EU leaders on how to react,” Tusk said on Twitter.
An EU source told AFP that the process “may take a few days” and declined to comment on the non-signature.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said the prime minister had spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Tusk.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he had discussed the situation with Johnson and “wished him success in the next stages” in the Commons.
Being forced to send the letter after Saturday’s defeat was a blow to Johnson, who has previously said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than prolong the tortuous process of ending Britain’s 46-year-old membership of the EU.
Brussels urged Britain to explain its plan as soon as possible, while Macron’s office said a new delay to Brexit was “in nobody’s interest”.
Johnson beaten 322-306
Securing the new divorce treaty at Thursday’s EU summit had been a personal victory for the prime minister, a figurehead in the Leave campaign in Britain’s 2016 EU membership referendum.
He had spent 48 hours frantically trying to persuade MPs to back it, and won support from many of the eurosceptic Conservatives who had three times rejected a previous divorce agreement secured by his predecessor Theresa May.
But parliament — like the frustrated public — is still bitterly divided over how and even whether Britain should end decades of integration with its closest trading partner.
MPs voted by 322 to 306 to back a motion by former Conservative minister Oliver Letwin that “withholds approval (of the deal) unless and until implementing legislation is passed”.
They were meeting on a Saturday for the first time since the 1982 Falklands War.
While MPs voted inside parliament, outside, more than 100,000 people marched to demand a new referendum that could reverse Brexit.
Demonstrators erupted into cheers at the news from inside the Commons.
“That’s really good, that’s one step away from Brexit,” demonstrator Philip Dobson told AFP.
“Reject Brexit”, “Put It To The People” and “Stop This Madness” read some of the placards at the mass march, where many protesters also waved EU flags.
Legislation next week
The British government will introduce legislation next week to implement the divorce deal, with a first vote as soon as Tuesday.
The government also wants another vote on the deal on Monday, which may not be possible.
There is a chance the deal could pass, and Britain could still leave the EU on October 31, but there remains strong opposition to the agreement among MPs.
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