Legislation passed last month stated that unless MPs backed a divorce deal by October 19, Johnson must write to EU leaders asking for Brexit to be postponed for three months to January 31, 2020. The prime minister reluctantly sent the letter late on Saturday, and EU leaders are still considering their response. Johnson warned MPs ahead of the votes on Tuesday that he would pull his Brexit deal legislation and try to hold a general election if they rejected his timetable - although he did not repeat the threat afterwards. Labour says it would back an election when the threat of a "no deal" Brexit is off the table. Some MPs may try to force the issue during the passage of the Brexit deal legislation, although it is far from clear that they have the numbers to succeed.

Source: News 24 October 22, 2019 20:03 UTC