Boris Johnson firm on Brexit as thousands protest in UK

London: Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday issued a stark warning to rebels within his own Conservative Party to fall in line with his Brexit plans or risk a government led by Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The warning came amid reports of secret government plans to de-select Tory MPs who vote against Johnson in order to block a no-deal Brexit, as Opposition MPs plan urgent legislation to be tabled when the UK Parliament resumes after its summer recess next Tuesday.

The urgency follows Johnson’s announcement to suspend Parliament from the week of September 9 until October 14, depriving MPs of crucial sitting days in which to scrutinise Brexit plans and triggering street protests by thousands across the UK on Saturday against what has been branded a “coup” by the British Prime Minister.

“Jeremy Corbyn has made a historic decision to turn his party into the anti-democratic, referendum-cancelling party. That’s his decision. I think it’s totally wrong,” Johnson told ‘The Sunday Times’.

“I just say to everybody in the country, including everyone in Parliament, the fundamental choice is this. Are you going to side with Jeremy Corbyn and those who want to cancel the referendum; are you going to side with those who want to scrub the democratic verdict of the people and plunge this country into chaos? Or are you going to side with those of us who want to get on, deliver on the mandate of the people and focus with absolute, laser-like precision on the domestic agenda. That’s the choice,” he said.

The UK is set to leave the European Union (EU), with or without an agreement in place, by October 31 after the June 2016 referendum in favour of Brexit.