Prime Minister Boris Johnson is ready to turn to the Supreme Court to go around the Benn Act and avoid formally requesting a Brexit delay, as required by the newly adopted law, the Daily Telegraph reported citing several government sources.
It implied that Johnson could testify in court, to attempt to personally persuade the judges not to enforce the Benn Act which otherwise mandates that he ask the EU for a Brexit deadline extension. According to a senior government source cited by the British publication, Johnson wants to be forced to write a letter to the EU, rather than doing it voluntarily.
The source said No 10 had to find a legal mechanism to allow the Prime Minister to "at least say five days before [31 October] 'I am literally not going to write that letter'.
"The real drama would be if Boris were in court calling it 'the Surrender Act'. He would almost be happy if the judge said 'you can't call it that'," the cited source remarked.
Downing Street has yet to comment on the speculation.
‘No Deal’ – Not Europe’s Choice
In a controversial recent rebuff, the European Commission indicated that there were insufficient grounds for further Brexit negotiations unless the UK came up with a revamped, more operational version of a deal, including a solution to the contested Irish "backstop" issue that has divided the sides for the past three years of non-stop talks.
According to the EU's Michel Barnier, Boris Johnson's government bears full responsibility for whether the country will agree or not to a no-deal EU exit. "If they do not change, I do not believe, based on the mandate the EU27 have given me, that we can advance," Barnier said on Saturday at an event in Paris.
"I want to be extremely clear. 'No deal' will never be Europe's choice. It would be – and note the conditional tense because I hope still to find a deal – it would always be the UK's choice, not ours," Barnier explained at length, ascertaining that the European side was prepared and had taken "measures to protect our citizens and our businesses."
Benn Act Implications
Critics are meanwhile wondering how Boris Johnson, who has insistently, in his signature straightforward manner expressed determination to leave the EU as scheduled, is going to handle the September Benn Act, which requires the prime minister to ask for an extension unless a deal arrives or the sides voluntarily agree to a hard Brexit.
Per Rory Stewart, a former Conservative minister who now announced he is quitting the party, Johnson may easily draw the ire of his supporters by promising to leave the EU by Halloween while being bound by the Benn Act:
"Politicians often respond by making extreme and extravagant promises that cannot be delivered ('I will leave on 31 October – do or die)," he said adding that they then blamed their "inevitable failure on some mysterious 'establishment', making people even angrier."
Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent out a proposal to bypass the backstop between the Republic of Ireland and the UK. In a letter to EU leaders, Johnson suggested "the potential creation of an all-island regulatory zone on the island of Ireland, covering all goods." The letter said that most of the trade would be controlled "electronically" with only a "very small number of physical checks."
New Deal Deadlines?
The Prime Minister indicated that a no-deal divorce would be a "failure of statecraft" and threatened to walk away if the bloc doesn't engage. Having blocked the initiative, the EU responded by giving Johnson up to seven days to make his plan acceptable to the European bloc.
Both Westminster and Downing Street are meanwhile bracing for the Queen's speech that is supposed to outline the government's agenda, including on Brexit, for the upcoming months. Mr Johnson has pledged to use the speech, due to be rounded off with a vote of confidence, to deliver "a bold and ambitious domestic legislative agenda for the renewal of our country after Brexit".
While independent MPs are expected to join opposition parties to defend the Prime Minister, there are rumours that many of the 21 Tory rebels, who were expelled from the party amid a previous Brexit deadlock last month, would still vote with the government, as they are "still Conservatives at heart."
Set to ‘Squat’ in Downing Street
According to the Sunday Times quoting Johnson's senior aides, the prime minister would challenge the Queen to sack him rather than resign as the head of the Cabinet of his own will, for the sake of driving through Brexit on 31 October.
The aides implied Johnson would not stand aside if his proposals were rejected by Brussels or at home, adding the prime minister was prepared to "squat" in Downing Street even of MPs declare no confidence in him and demand a caretaker prime minister to take over.