Britain ramps up preparations for 'very real prospect' of no-deal Brexit

REHEAT THE DISH

Johnson has said the Irish backstop, an insurance policy designed to prevent the return of a hard border between EU-member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland by provisionally keeping Britain in a customs union with the EU, must be removed from any Brexit deal.

It was one of the most hotly contested elements of the divorce agreement his predecessor Theresa May reached with the EU, and opposition to it was a key driver behind the deal being rejected three times by parliament.

"You can't just reheat the dish that's been sent back and expect that will make it more palatable," Gove wrote. "We need a new approach and a different relationship. Critically, we need to abolish the backstop."

Lawmakers from opposition parties and the governing Conservative Party have threatened to try and block Johnson taking Britain out of the EU without a divorce deal.

The Observer newspaper reported that former finance minister Philip Hammond, who quit last week before Johnson took office, held talks with the opposition Labour Party about how to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Sunday his party would do everything it could to prevent the country leaving the EU without a deal.

Although Johnson has been adamant he will not hold an election before Brexit, his Conservative Party does not have a majority in parliament, are divided over Brexit and under threat of a no-confidence vote when parliament returns in September.

Speculation of an early election to break the deadlock is likely to be fuelled by a YouGov opinion poll in the Sunday Times, which showed the Conservatives had opened up a 10-point lead over Labour since Johnson took over.