Boris Johnson has doubled down on his hardline Brexit strategy, insisting he is “confident” the EU will give in to his demands on the Northern Ireland backstop.
The prime minister said a no-deal Brexit on October 31 would mean “bumps in the road” and has refused to recall parliament to allow MPs to scrutinise his plans.
It comes as the government’s Yellowhammer report on no-deal was leaked to the Sunday Times. It lays bare the impact of leaving without a deal, from hikes in the cost of social care and an immediate hard border in Northern Ireland, to food shortages and gridlock at ports.
MPs want Johnson to re-enter negotiations but he said Brussels must first be willing to compromise on the backstop - something EU leaders have repeatedly ruled out.
Ahead of meetings this week with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Johnson refused to change course and sought to play down the report.
“I’m not pretending that there won’t be bumps on the road,” he said during a visit to Cornwall on Monday. “There will be, I said that on the steps of Downing Street, but if everybody puts their minds to it I have absolutely no doubt that we can get ready.”
It came amid furious briefings from Number 10 that former ministers leaked the report to the media to undermine negotiations with the EU this week.
Johnson conceded that Brussels had shown no sign of flexibility on the backstop, but claimed that would change.
“Now of course our friends and partners on the other side of the Channel are showing a little bit of reluctance at the moment to change their position,” he said. “That’s fine – I’m confident that they will – but in the meantime we have to get ready for a no deal outcome.
“I want a deal. We’re ready to work with our friends and partners to get a deal but if you want a good deal for the UK, you must simultaneously get ready to come out without one.”
It comes as Jeremy Corbyn and others backed efforts by Green MP Caroline Lucas to have parliament recalled so MPs could find a way of averting no-deal.
Parliament is not due to sit again until Tuesday September 3.
Corbyn said Johnson should not be allowed to carry out a “manoeuvre” – such as suspending parliament – which would take the UK out of the EU “without any further discussion”.
A spokesman for Number 10 said the Commons agreed the recess dates before summer. A Whitehall source, meanwhile, said that MPs would be updated by minister for no-deal Michael Gove on September 3.
Best for Britain, which is campaigning for a second Brexit referendum and remain said Johnson “acting all macho won’t get us anywhere”.
Chief executive Naomi Smith said: “It takes two to tango. The EU won’t simply dance to Boris Johnson’s tune – he has to compromise too.
“But the prime minister has no intention of negotiating a deal. His administration has threatened no-deal time and time again, despite the dire warnings about its consequences.”