Boris Johnson broke cover on Monday night in an interview for the BBC in which he was forced to admit there would be no transition period without the EU’s agreement in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
In the interview with the corporation’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, his first of the Conservative leadership campaign, Johnson also vowed he would never disclose what led to the loud row with his partner Carrie Symonds, which led neighbours to call police.
Johnson repeatedly swerved questions on the detail of his Brexit plan but suggested he was not prepared to rip up the entire agreement, as hard Brexiter supporters have insisted he has promised to do.
He said he intended to “make progress with the bits of the withdrawal agreement that we have” but there could be “creative ambiguity” about the payment of £39bn to the EU agreed as part of the deal.
He said those issues, including the Irish border, would be tackled “on the other side of 31 October during what’s called the implementation period.”
Johnson then admitted the UK would not be entitled to an implementation period without signing up to the current withdrawal agreement. “That’s certainly what I’m aiming for … to get an implementation period,” he said.
He said he believed there were “abundant, abundant technical fixes that can be introduced to make sure that you don’t have to have checks at the border” but conceded there was “no single magic bullet” to solve the issue of the Irish border.
However, he said there was now “a real positive energy about getting it done … I think on both sides of the channel there’s an understanding that we have to come out, but clearly parliament has voted three times against the backstop arrangements.”
Johnson said he believed there would be a “very different outcome” with UK negotiators determined to find an alternative to the backstop. “We were committed to it. We actually helped to invent it. We were the authors of our own incarceration. Take that away. Change the approach of the UK negotiators and you have a very different outcome,” he said.
He said he would make an absolute guarantee the UK would leave – deal or no deal – by 31 October. “It is not where I believe for a moment we will end up. But in order to get the result that we want … The common sensical thing to do is to prepare for a WTO exit.”
Johnson said he believed he could get a no-deal Brexit through parliament if necessary, despite Tory MPs warning a prime minister headed for no deal would be likely to be brought down by Conservative rebels in a confidence vote.
“I think that MPs on both sides of the House also understand that they will face mortal retribution from the electorate unless we get on and do it,” he said.
Separately, Johnson said that he would never go into what had occurred between him and Symonds on the night the police were called to her flat.
“I do not talk about stuff involving my family, my loved ones. And there’s a very good reason for that. That is that, if you do, you drag them into things that, really is, is, in a way that is not fair on them,” he said.
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Seriously judging anyone who claims that this oaf is intelligent in any meaningful sense.
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Didn't someone describe Boris as an idiot's idea of a clever person.
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Sounds like a pretty accurate description.
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Christ. Johnson on one side, Corbyn on the other.
Time to think seriously about leaving the jurisdiction for a few years...
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I recommend it, tbh.
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Clowns to the left of me, jokers on the right....
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Corbyn and Johnson will hopefully both be out of a job by Xmas.
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Agreed the Guardian is trash and 90% fake news. All it's journos got there through nepotism
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He did say all that shite though hotnow
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here is the transcript
see if you can derive what the fook his plan is for brexit
I know he can't
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-politics-48752222
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What part of the article, of which about 90% is quoting directly from Johnson's interview with Laura Kuennsberg, are you suggesting sis "fake news"?
Also, heh @ someone moaning that Guardian journos got where they are through nepotism when this bumbling idiot is about to become Prime Minister.
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Boris has never been much of a plans man. More of a winge from the fringes about how he would do a better job but never specify how kind of man.
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That's why he'll crash and burn spectacularly in front of the EU negotiating team, who don't care for rhetorical flourishes or Kipling quotes, but want to know the detail of the policy being proposed.
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At least most of the journalists at the Guardian know how to use apostrophes.
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Theresa May must be rubbing her hands together with glee. She has been awful, but history will judge her more kindly than either her predecessor or her successor.
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His attempt to explain his plan is fooking awful. Most people down the pub could do better.
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Agree re tmpm. At least she worked hard which is something no-one is going to accuse johnson of.
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The derangement syndrome is tragic to behold. Yesterday he 'didn't want' to be PM (a wild w*nk fantasy if ever I heard one) and today 'oh God Boris made a policy statement and showed some leadership' you are in full denial and panic mode
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How exactly did he show leadership?
He fluffed all the questions. He has no policy. None. This was an absolute car crash of an interview.
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I can hear the frothing and teeth grinding and low level chuntering from here. It's 70% stage 1 denial and 30% cognitive dissonance. "This can't be my reality"!
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Showed leadership on the Irish border. Firm deadlines. Grit. Determination.
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I was disappointed Kuennsberg didn't ask him for a shag.
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Dude.
You're the one who came onto this thread to shout "fake news" when the OP is pretty much a verbatim account of what Boris Johnson said in yesterday's interview.
When this was calmly pointed out to you, you accused me of being deranged because yesterday I thought he wasn't taking his leadership bid seriously and today I am complaining about him showing leadership by making a policy statement, when the whole point of this thread is his lack of leadership qualities and the total absence of any policies.
I don't think I'm the one in "denial and panic mode" here.
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He acknowledged that there is no plan for the Irish border and said we are going to leave the EU by 31st October come what may, even though there is no plan for the Irish border and will not be a plan for the Irish border by 31st October.
Is that what you call "leadership", "firm deadlines" (this deadline has in fact been set by the EU), "grit" and "determination"?
Jesus fooking Christ on a bike.
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I mean he's a clown tbf can't really defend him.
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To the OP: no I have not read such crap for some time now.
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And for all dumb ass Brexiters and tories on here: you really are embarrassing yourselves trying to defend this non entity of a politician and rest assured we continental Europeans will take a big fat dump on his „creative ambiguity about the 39 billion“. You think it’s clever? Well think again. As someone posted above: a dumb man‘s idea of a clever person
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For the first and last time ever...
Wot the kraut sed.
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I think he's better described as a clever man's idea of a stupid person.
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That doesn't prevent him from actually being a stupid person, Wang.
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No, quite, that is why my comment is so ace
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Heh.
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I love the hysteria that Bojo for PM is causing amongst the remain brigade here.
It's almost as good as when the election result was first announced.
By the way - yes I am a card carrying member of the tory party and yes Bozza will be getting my vote.
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Please do. His government won't last five minutes.
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the election result where the tories lost their majority? yes, that was amusing
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In the interview with the corporation’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, his first of the Conservative leadership campaign, Johnson also vowed he would never disclose what led to the loud row with his partner Carrie Symonds, which led neighbours to call police.
Got to love the way newspapers play with juxtaposition (and of pictures and links to other articles on their website) when skating around topics which are subject to an injunction...
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Amazed his team have been letting him out tbf (have you seen a summary of the LBC phone in today?)
None of those that will vote for him will give a toss (remember when Trump said he could shoot someone and still win?)
I'm not even appalled any more, just numb
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"subject to an injunction..."
Are you allowed to say that if you know?
or is it just specualtion?
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I have accepted that Johnson will be our next PM.
I cling to the hope that he is so shite that a GE is called, Brexit is subject to another delay so we can hold our GE, the sane tory MPs defect to somewhere else and we end up with a Labour-led coalition with LDs, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru. And then hope that some sanity can prevail.
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speculation based on Clerg's thread yday
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speculation in the press too that his team are seeking an injunction to stop the argument tape being broadcast
which presumably is the case given that it hasn't been made public
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I do wonder why the neighbours went to the Guardian though. Any of the Brexshit supporting rags would have published it too without attacking the 'politically motivated lefty liberal elite Remain couple'
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@Legal Alien25 Jun 19 11:18
Why on earth would you vote for an ideas-free lying maniac like Johnson when the alternative is Hunt and he’s promising the same policies ?????
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For me it's finely balanced ying and yang of agony and ecstasy:
on one hand watching the left doing mental gymnastics and failing to understand that their fellow citizens don't hold the exact same political view as them;
But on the other hand incompetent, venal, overly self-assured nobheads are going to ruin the country.
double edged sword.
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Wholly unsurprising that remainers are actively willing Boris to fail once elected.
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I get to vote. You hand-wringing remainers don't.
This is very enjoyable for me.
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Yeah but we can certify docs, so...
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Of course I am willing Boris Johnson to fail in his mission to destroy the country, and to bring down the Tory party in the process so that we can have a chance to stop Brexit, save the UK and put electoral reform back on the agenda.
It's the only logical point of view for anyone who both has a brain and loves their country.
Join the discussion