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5 Sep, 2019 17:24

Johnson says he’d rather be ‘dead in a ditch’ than ask EU for Brexit delay

Johnson says he’d rather be ‘dead in a ditch’ than ask EU for Brexit delay

The British prime minister said he would never ask the EU for an extension of the Brexit deadline – he'd rather “be dead in a ditch” instead. Meanwhile, parliament is close to forcing him to go to Brussels.

The remarks were delivered by Boris Johnson on Thursday during a speech after his visit to a police training center in West Yorkshire. When asked by a reporter if he could promise the British public he would never go to Brussels to ask for a new Brexit delay, Johnson replied affirmatively, and emphatically added that he “would rather be dead in a ditch.”

While the PM was apparently adamant in his refusal to kowtow to the European Union, he managed to dodge a direct question from a reporter asking if he would resign rather than request the Brexit prolongation. Instead, the Tory bigwig simply reiterated his calls to “get Brexit done” and said that any delays would be “totally pointless.”

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“It achieves absolutely nothing. What on earth is the point of further delay?” he added.

It was not immediately clear how Johnson plans to deliver on his bold promise, given the string of defeats he has suffered, which resulted in the loss of the parliament majority and the adoption of a bill that actually obliges him to go and seek a new three-month extension to prolong the Brexit process.

During Tuesday's Commons debates, Johnson vowed to “obey the law” when it comes to the bill, so once the formalities are settled he will likely be forced to go to Brussels – or be “dead in a ditch” – if he's as good as his word.

Needless to say, the statement's disproportionate resoluteness promptly drew all kinds of jokers to yet again mock the British PM.

Many were not eager to take Johnson’s promise at face – or any – value, bringing up his past history of making big promises and not keeping them such as his vow to prevent the third runway at Heathrow airport from ever getting constructed, issued during his time as London’s mayor.

Johnson ran away from voting on the issue back in 2018, while the latest monstrous plan of the airport expansion was unveiled earlier this year.

Apart from the ditch remark, many were irked by another prime-ministerial gaffe from the event. During his speech a policewoman standing right behind him collapsed, while Johnson joked about it and said it was a signal for him to “wind up.”

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