The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent an unsigned letter to Donald Tusk requesting a new postponement of Brexit, but also another letter to the President of the European Council in which he stated that he did not want such a postponement, a government source said.
Johnson was forced by a law passed by the British Parliament last month to ask the EU to extend Brexit until January 31, as lawmakers on Saturday thwarted his attempt to pass a divorce agreement with the block.
The government source said that the British Prime Minister sent a total of three letters to Tusk: a copy of the text of this law (known as Ben's law), a forwarding note from the UK representative to the European Union and a third letter stating that he did not wants a postponement.
"I have made it clear since I took office as Prime Minister and I have made it clear again today in Parliament my view and the position of the government that a new extension will harm the interests of the United Kingdom and our European partners and our relationship," Johnson wrote in his third letter, posted on twitter by the Financial Times correspondent in Brussels.
In the letter, the leader of the Tories stressed that he is confident that the process of approval of the legislation on Brexit by the British Parliament will be completed by October 31 (s.s. the current deadline). Johnson hoped on Saturday that British lawmakers would approve the agreement reached last week with EU leaders.
However, with 322 votes in favor and 306 against, an amendment was passed stating that even if Parliament approves the new agreement, the Prime Minister will have to ask for the postponement of Brexit until the legislation for the withdrawal of both bodies is completed. Parliament.
Tusk's response, reactions from the opposition
Shortly after midnight (Cyprus time), Tusk tweeted that: "the request for postponement has just been received. "I will now start consulting with European leaders on how to react." British MPs accused the British Prime Minister that with this move, he used the "Trump manual".
The extension request has just arrived. I will now start consulting EU leaders on how to react. #Brexit
- Charles Michel (@eucopresident) October 19, 2019
"This comes straight from the (US President Donald Trump)'s handbook and we must stop Boris Johnson," wrote Labor MP David Laymi on Twitter. He accused the leader of the Torsi of pushing Britain into the "path of anarchy and lawlessness". In a tweet, Joanna Cherry, a member of the Scottish National Party, called Johnson's move to send the three letters "deplorable". "Johnson is a prime minister who now treats Parliament and the courts with contempt," said John McDonnell, the Labor Party's shadow finance minister.
"His immature refusal to even sign the letter confirms what we have always suspected that Johnson, with his arrogant sense of belief in his right, considers it to be above the law and above all accountability." The head of the BBC's political reporting department, Laura Quensberg, described Johnson's decision to send three letters as "controversial", predicting that "there will be a battle over whether Johnson is trying to bypass the court".
The Scottish Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal on Monday seeking to force Johnson to comply with Ben's law. Earlier this month, legal representatives of the government issued official legal statements that the prime minister would abide by Ben's law, and the court ruled that it was a serious matter if he did not do so.
Source: KATHIMERINI