NO SURRENDER
Boris Johnson refuses to resurrect Theresa May’s hated Brexit deal and WON’T quit to dodge asking for third extension
BORIS Johnson has vowed never to bring back Theresa May's hated Brexit deal today - and insisted he WILL NOT quit to dodge a third extension.
A defiant PM kicked off the Tory conference in Manchester today by promising that the ex-PM's old agreement was all but dead.
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Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr this morning he said: "We are certainly not bringing back the current withdrawal agreement, no way."
It comes after The Sun revealed that several Cabinet ministers have urged Boris to bring back a version of the old deal to avoid leaving without an agreement on October 31.
Boris also said that he wouldn't quit ahead of October 31 so someone else could officially ask for a delay.
He said: "No... I've undertaken to lead my party and the country at a difficult time... and I'm going to continue to do that.."
On the first day of the party's annual gathering in Manchester:
- The PM insisted he had no need to declare his relationship with ex-model Jennifer Arcuri - as four friends said she admitted having an affair with him
- Boris appeared to row back from his furious row with Labour MPs over language - saying he was sorry for the "misunderstanding"
- And he suggested EU member states could veto a third extension as they are so fed up with the Brexit chaos
Boris this morning faced a flurry of questions about his relationship with ex-model and businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri.
Last night The Sunday Times revealed how four friends had said she admitted they had a relationship.
But the PM insisted that he'd done nothing wrong as Mayor of London - and there was no need to tell officials of their friendship, despite taxpayer funded grants to her tech businesses.
"There wasn’t an interest to declare,” he stressed.
The comments came as Mr Johnson faced a second scandal, as columnist and former employee Charlotte Edwardes claimed he groped her when she was a young staffer at the Spectator.
She claimed the then-editor of the Spectator magazine grabbed her thigh at lunch back in 1999.
She wrote: "Under the table I feel Johnson's hand on my thigh.
"He gives it a squeeze. His hand is high up my leg and he has enough flesh beneath his fingers to make me sit suddenly upright."
But speaking to the BBC, Mr Johnson suggested the attacks were politically motivated - saying you “expect a lot of shot and shell” in his position.
'SORRY FOR MISUNDERSTANDING'
And the PM appeared to row back on his row with MPs over his language in the Commons on Wednesday night.
Labour politicians were furious with him after he shrugged off Paula Sherriff's concern over threats to MPs in the Commons.
But Boris insisted his response of "humbug" was in relation to her attempts to stop him from using the word "surrender" to describe the Benn Act - which will force the PM to go to the EU and get an extension.
The PM said: "I can certainly say sorry for the misunderstanding."
It came as he stood firm on his use of language, stressing he had been "the model of restraint" as PM.
And he again defended his right to use words like "surrender".
"It is wrong in principle that politicians should be prevented from using words like surrender," he said.
"My intention was to refuse to be crowded out using the word surrender to describe the surrender act."
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Ex-model Jennifer Arcuri ‘told pals she was having a sexual affair with Boris Johnson
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The PM was also grilled on how he plans to secure a Brexit deal with just over a month to go until we leave the EU.
He suggested that the EU could block a third extension to leaving, even if he was forced to ask for one.
"I am not going to go into discussions I am going to be having with EU heads of state about the negotiations," he said when asked about the idea.
"Other EU countries don’t want this thing to be dragging on.
"They want a good deal, there’s an opportunity for a good deal.
"There is a strong view across the EU that it’s time to move on.
"It’s our job to get Brexit done on October 31 and move the country on."
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Boris Johnson vows not to quit to dodge asking EU for third Brexit delay
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