British government braces for a no-deal Brexit

Senior MPs have been holding cross-party talks to stop UK leaving EU without agreement

Cabinet minister Michael Gove said that the UK was preparing to leave the European Union without a deal. AFP

The British government is preparing for a no-deal Brexit, while some senior MPs have been holding talks to prevent that from happening.

Cabinet member and prominent Brexiteer Michael Gove wrote in The Sunday Times that the government was “working on the assumption” that the UK would be leaving the bloc without a deal, which is now “a very real prospect”.

Mr Gove, who has been put in charge of no-deal preparations, said he hoped the EU would be willing to renegotiate a withdrawal agreement it reached with former prime minister Theresa May.

But he warned that Britain should now “operate on the assumption that they will not”.

Mr Gove said the government would launch “one of the biggest peacetime public information campaigns this country has seen” to prepare people and businesses for a "no-deal" exit.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not accept the contentious Irish backstop in a new Brexit deal.

The backstop seeks to prevent the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by provisionally keeping the UK in the Customs union with the EU.

Mr Gove has also supported abolishing the backstop.

But EU leaders have repeatedly said that they will not renegotiate Mrs May’s withdrawal agreement.

Mr Johnson has pledged to take the UK out of the EU by the October 31 deadline even if it means leaving without an agreement in place.

But on Sunday, French member of the European Parliament and former EU minister Nathalie Loiseau strongly condemned Mr Johnson’s plans.

Ms Loiseau said the bloc would refuse to talk to him until the UK paid Brussels the £39 billion (Dh175.16bn) "divorce bill".

She told Sky News that6 there would be no discussion on a future trading relationship until the divorce bill, citizens' rights and the Irish border issues were resolved.

Meanwhile, senior MPs have been holding cross party talks to try to thwart a no-deal Brexit.

The Observer newspaper reported that Philip Hammond, the former Conservative chancellor, held secret talks with the opposition Labour Party last week.

Some of the senior Conservatives who were sacked by Mr Johnson in his Cabinet reshuffle last week, and some of those who chose to resign, are forming a cross-party opposition to stop a hard Brexit.

Although it is seen as a last resort, Remain-supporting Conservatives are able to vote for a no-confidence motion in their government if hard Brexit appears likely.