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WORLD NEWS Monday 9 SepteMber 2019

Ex-UK minister says Johnson

not trying to get a Brexit deal

By JILL LAWLESS pelled included the lon- Johnson said this week he
Associated Press gest-serving Conservative would rather be “dead in
LONDON (AP) — A senior in Parliament, Ken Clarke, a ditch” than seek a post-
minister who quit British and Nicholas Soames, ponement, leaving gov-
Prime Minister Boris John- grandson of World War ernment and Parliament
son’s Cabinet said Sun- II Prime Minister Winston at odds — with no obvious
day that the government Churchill. solution.
is making little or no effort Rudd called the expulsions Johnson’s options — all of
to secure a Brexit agree- “an assault on decency them extreme — include
ment with the European and democracy.” disobeying the law, which
Union, despite Johnson’s “The Conservative Party could land him in court or
insistence that he wants a should be a moderate par- even prison, and resigning.
deal. ty that embraces people Foreign Secretary Dominic
Amber Rudd said “there with different views of the Raab said Sunday that the
is no evidence of a deal. EU,” she said. “If we be- government would obey
There are no formal nego- come a party which has no the law, but would also
tiations taking place.” place for moderates like I “test very carefully what it
“What we know is that An- am, center-right conserva- does and doesn’t require.”
gela Merkel and the EU tives, then we will not win.” “It’s been a rough week,
have said, ‘give us your Johnson is seeking a snap but the reality is the prime
proposal,’ and we have election on Oct. 15 as a minister is sticking to his
not given them a propos- way to break the deadlock guns on what he said to
al,” she told the BBC. over Brexit, but lawmakers get us out of this rut that This Sept. 4, 2019 photo shows Work and Pensions Secretary
Amber Rudd in London.
Treasury chief Sajid Javid last week rejected his call we’re in,” he said.q Associated Press
insisted that the govern- for an early poll.
ment was “straining every He is due to try again Mon-
sinew to get a deal” and day, but opposition parties
had sent British negotiator say they will veto that at-
David Frost to Brussels for tempt, too. They want to
talks. The EU, however, says postpone an election until
Britain has not produced Britain has secured a delay
any concrete new ideas. to the Oct. 31 Brexit dead-
Rudd’s resignation as work line, removing the risk the
and pensions secretary U.K. could crash out with-
late Saturday is the latest out a deal.
blow to the embattled Brit- Opposition Labour Party
ish prime minister. finance spokesman John
Johnson says Britain must McDonnell said “we’re in
leave the EU as scheduled a situation where no-one
Oct. 31 even if there is no can trust while (Johnson) is
divorce agreement with in place what could hap-
the bloc. But his plan is pen.”
meeting fierce resistance, “We don’t believe that we
including from some mem- can pin him down and I
bers of his own party. don’t trust him an inch, and
Last week Johnson kicked I don’t think anyone does,”
21 lawmakers out of the McDonnell told the BBC.
Conservative group in Par- Most economists say a no-
liament after they sided deal Brexit would severely
with the opposition to pass disrupt trade with the EU
a law designed to prevent and plunge the U.K. into re-
a no-deal Brexit. Those ex- cession.