Boris Johnson news: PM ‘behaving like a spoilt brat’ after deal derailed as Micheal Gove insists UK will leave EU on 31 October

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Boris Johnson’s letters to Brussels 'may be in contempt of parliament', claims John McDonnell

Boris Johnson was accused of “behaving like a spoilt brat” after he sent an unsigned letter to the EU asking for an extension to Brexit.

The prime minister, having promised that he would never make such a request, was forced to do so after MPs voted to withhold approval for his withdrawal agreement.

Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Mr Johnson “has to abide by the law” and may be in contempt of parliament, adding: ”He’s behaving a bit like a spoilt brat.”

However Michael Gove, the government minister in charge of Brexit preparations, insisted that the UK would still leave the EU on 31 October.

“We are going to leave by October 31,” he told Sky News. ”We have the means and the ability to do so and yesterday... we had some people who voted for delay, voted explicitly to try to frustrate this process and to drag it out.”

The government is planning to hold a “meaningful vote” on Mr Johnson’s deal on Monday but opposition MPs are seeking amendments to protect against a no-deal Brexit and hold a second referendum.

Supporters of a Final Say referendum are being urged to sign a letter which calls on officials in the UK and the EU to do everything they can to give the people a vote on the final Brexit deal.

Follow events as they happened in our liveblog below:

Key Points

• Boris Johnson 'may be in contempt of parliament'
• Brexit Party leader backs short delay to Brexit
• Letter calling for Final Say vote backed by over 180,000
• Labour backs amendment calling for referendum on deal
• Michael Gove says 'we will leave on 31 October'
• What happens next?

[20 October 2019 12:51 · Peter Stubley]

So what happens next?

• Monday: Speaker John Bercow will rule on whether the government can hold a "meaningful debate" on Boris Johnson's withdrawal agreement.

• Monday: Anti-Brexit campaigners may pursue legal action in the Scottish courts over the letter to the EU seeking an extension, arguing that the prime minister attempted to undermine it with his second letter. 

• Tuesday onwards: The government is set to introduce the Brexit legislation required for the UK to leave the EU on 31 October.

• MPs are expected to introduce an amendment calling for a confirmatory referendum if the deal is approved. Both Labour and the SNP have indicated they will back the motion. Further amendments will involve trying to prevent any possibility of a no-deal Brexit at the end of a transition period in December 2020.

• If a no-deal Brexit is ruled out Boris Johnson is likely to face a vote of no confidence, which may result in a general election.

• The EU will consider whether to agree a further extension of the Brexit deadline, most likely to 31 January 2020.

[20 October 2019 12:59 · Peter Stubley]

The prime minister of Finland says it "makes sense" to extend the Brexit deadline beyond 31 October.

Antti Rinne added: "Finland, along with other EU nations, attaches great importance to the approval of the resignation agreement negotiated with Britain."

His views, and those of other European politicians, seem to run counter to the suggestion - made anonymously to journalists by government "sources" - that the EU could refuse an extension.

[20 October 2019 13:06 · Peter Stubley]

Here's our story on Michael Gove's decision to "trigger" Operation Yellowhammer, the contingency plan for a no-deal Brexit.

Mr Gove confirmed that, unlike Theresa May’s deal, the package negotiated by Mr Johnson means the UK faces another no-deal cliff-edge at the end of December 2020 if the PM fails to secure a free trade agreement, writes political editor Andrew Woodcock.

[20 October 2019 13:13 · Peter Stubley]

On a less serious note, the pedants have been out in force criticising a grammatical mistake in Boris Johnson's letter to the EU.

[20 October 2019 13:19 · Peter Stubley]

Lord Heseltine, who served as deputy prime minister back in the 1990s, has accused Boris Johnson of "backstreet spiv" tactics over the unsigned Brexit extenstion letter to the EU.

"As a layman, not a lawyer, as a layman, to me it seems a complete flouting the law," he told LBC. "But this matter was not for me to determine and I haven't slightest doubt it'll be back in the court tomorrow."

[20 October 2019 14:11 · Peter Stubley]

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson says she opposes Scottish independence, arguing that it will be "much more difficult" than Brexit.

She said: "I want the UK to stay in the European Union, that's what I'm working for and I believe that's still possible.

"I believe we can still do that and I'm not giving up on that cause because I think we're better off having Scotland in the UK and the UK in the EU.

"I'm pretty much the only party leader in Scotland that's arguing for that position.

"We are seeing with this last three and a half years of Brexit chaos just how difficult it is when you have intertwined regulations, institutions, countries working together for 40 years in the case of Europe - how untangling that is complicated and difficult.

"And I just think, breaking up that union of 300 years will be so much more difficult than what we're experiencing with Brexit, that it's the lesson I take from that Brexit process."

[20 October 2019 15:11 · Peter Stubley]

So will speaker John Bercow try and stop the government holding a "meaningful vote" on Monday?

The vote was meant to go ahead on Saturday but Boris Johnson decided to pull it after MPs passed the Letwin amendment, which sought to prevent a no-deal Brexit by withholding approval of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's deal until legislation implementing it is passed.

However Jacob Rees Mogg, the leader of the House, announced the government planned to hold the meaningful vote on Monday before introducing the Brexit legislation.

Mr Bercow said that it appeared to be an attempt "to invalidate or obviate the effect of the decision that the House has reached today".

He added: "I can only say when I have reflected on this matter I will give a full ruling and I very, very politely reiterate that the Government is not the arbiter of what is orderly.

"So I just want the House to know that I have been blindsided on this matter as others have been, and I would that it had not been so."

The speaker will rule on the issue tomorrow.

Meanwhile one of his deputies, Eleanor Laing, has written an article for the Sunday Telegraph suggesting the speaker is not fulfilling his duty to be "an independent anchor of our proceedings, unaffected by an allegiance to any political objective or to any party or group within Parliament, upholding our rules and conventions and applying them consistently".

She added that "too many decisions have been made behind closed doors".

[20 October 2019 15:26 · Peter Stubley]

The action at the House of Commons only gets underway at 2.30pm tomorrow. According to the agenda, the motion for a meaningful vote on the withdrawal agreement will be put forward at some point after 3.30pm.

It adds that "the Speaker plans to make a statement on proceedings on this Motion immediately after Defence Questions."

An amendment has been put forward calling for "the Prime Minister to secure an extension under Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union until at least 31 January 2020 for the purpose of holding an early general election before the end of the extension period".

[20 October 2019 15:29 · Peter Stubley]

Agenda for the House of Commons on Monday 21 October

[20 October 2019 15:41 · Peter Stubley]

The amendment to the meaningful vote motion, which seeks to delay Brexit until 31 January 2020 to give time for a general election, has been put forward by a group of SNP MPs led by Ian Blackford.