LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Friday seek to sell his Brexit deal to sceptical MPs, as he returns home fresh from an EU victory but risking defeat in parliament. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker sought to focus MPs’ minds, saying Brussels can see no need to prolong the tortuous, three-year Brexit process. He further warned that if British PMs rejected the deal it would create an “extremely complicated situation.”Johnson, a leading Brexit campaigner in the 2016 EU referendum campaign, took office in July vowing to keep to the October 31 Brexit deadline, deal or no deal. But with the numbers extremely tight, he needs to win over Labour MPs representing Brexit-supporting seats. An official said he would seek to reassure individual Labour MPs that these could be guaranteed in a law implementing the Brexit deal, which could be introduced as soon as Monday if parliament backs the agreement.--AFP

Source: New Strait Times October 18, 2019 03:00 UTC