TRURO: Prime
Minister Boris Johnson called on France and Germany yesterday to change their
position on Brexit and negotiate a new exit deal for Britain, reiterating his
stance that he is ready to leave the European Union without a deal if they do
not. With Britain is set to leave the bloc on Oct 31, it has less than 74 days
to resolve a three-year crisis that is pitting the country against the EU, and
parliament against the executive. "We will be ready to come out on Oct 31
- deal or no deal," Johnson told reporters in Truro, southwest England.

"Our friends
and partners on the other side of the Channel are showing a little bit of
reluctance to change their position - that's fine - I am confident that they
will," he said. Asked specifically about meetings scheduled this week with
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, he said:
"I hope they will see fit to compromise." Johnson took office last
month after his predecessor, Theresa May, failed three times to get parliament
to approve the withdrawal deal she had negotiated with the EU.

He is insisting
Britain will leave with or without a transition deal on Oct. 31 although a
majority in parliament have previously tried to prevent a so-called no-deal
Brexit. Johnson's calls for the EU to renegotiate the deal have so far been
rejected by the bloc's negotiators. That puts Britain on course for an
unmanaged exit, which an official assessment published by the Sunday Times said
would jam ports, increase the risk of public protests and severely disrupt the
world's fifth-largest economy.

In his first
foreign trip as prime minister, Johnson will meet Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday
and Macron in Paris on Thursday. The European Commission, which is leading
negotiations on behalf of France, Germany and other EU members, said it was
ready for a no-deal Brexit and that Britain would suffer most under such a
scenario. On Sunday Merkel said Germany would be prepared whatever the outcome.

Ministers in
Johnson's Conservative government have played down the leaked no-deal
assessment on Sunday, saying the document was old and did not reflect increased
funding and planning undertaken by the prime minister since he took office.
They accuse the opposition Labor Party and others who are opposed to a no-deal
Brexit of undermining negotiations with the EU, saying European leaders will
wait to see if parliament can block such an outcome before deciding whether to
renegotiate the deal.

Parliament
recall?

While Johnson
looked ahead to a week of foreign engagements, which includes a G7 meeting in
France attended by US President Donald Trump on Saturday and Sunday, he faced
increasing pressure at home to recall parliament from its summer break to
urgently debate the Brexit crisis. Lawmakers are already fretting that they do
not have enough time to stop a no-deal Brexit, and they have yet to agree on a
unified approach, which badly damages their chances of success.

Labor leader Jeremy
Corbyn joined calls for parliament to be recalled, saying during a speech in
Corby, central England that "We will do everything to stop a no-deal
Brexit". He said Johnson must not be allowed to use parliamentary
procedure to block discussion of the country's future, referring to concerns
that Johnson could suspend the legislature until after Oct. 31 or delay a
national election even if his government fell before that date.

"We do
support the recall of parliament in order to prevent the prime minister having
some kind of maneuver to take us out on the 31st of October without any further
discussion in parliament," Corbyn said. His comments added weight to a
demand made on Sunday, signed by more than 100 lawmakers, for a parliamentary
recall to discuss what they called a "national emergency". Parliament
is currently not due to sit until Sept 3, when it will reconvene for a short
session before breaking up again to allow for annual party conferences.

A government
source said Michael Gove, the minister in charge of co-ordinating no deal
preparations, would give a statement to parliament as soon as it returns,
updating them on the latest progress. He would commit to give regular updates,
the source said. Labor wants to bring down Johnson's government and form its
own emergency coalition under Corbyn's leadership to delay Brexit. Other
opponents of a no-deal Brexit have balked at supporting a plan that would put
Corbyn in charge.- Reuters