Boris Johnson: We are Leaving the EU with or without Deal on 31 October

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was prepared to take Brexit talks with the European Union down to the very last minute before the Oct. 31 exit deadline, and if necessary to take a decision to leave without a deal on that day. Johnson has 68 days to convince the EU to give him a new Brexit deal, with neither side so far willing to compromise on the most contentious issues. If he can’t get a deal, he says Britain will leave the bloc anyway. That leaves Britain, with the world’s fifth largest economy, heading for a messy divorce with the EU that critics fear could lead to food shortages and major border disruption in the short term and undermine the country’s prosperity in the long term. When asked by Reuters if he was prepared to take talks with the EU right up to October 31, Johnson said: “Well I do think that the EU does tend to come to an agreement right at the end.” The UK parliament has rejected three times a withdrawal deal reached by his predecessor Theresa May with the EU, prompting her resignation and deepening a three-year crisis that threatens Britain’s status as one of the world’s pre-eminent financial centres and a trusted, stable destination for foreign investors, Reuters writes. Radio Liberty