Loading

On a visit to Scotland where he was photographed trying to guide a bull, Johnson stuck to his guns.

"The bill that is still before Parliament would in theory mean that the government of the UK was obliged to write a letter to Brussels asking for a pointless delay to leaving the EU and I don't think that's what people want."

Asked if that meant he would not seek an extension even if the bill was passed into law [which it later was] he said: "I will not. I don't want a delay."

On Monday, the Prime Minister will make a second attempt to win the backing of MPs for an election on October 15.

Labour, which fears it will lose an early election, is in talks with opposition leaders about delaying a vote until the end of November, in the hope it can trap Johnson into delaying Brexit.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said Corbyn had "one last chance" on Monday to "do the right thing and order his MPs to let the public choose who they want to close this chapter of our country's history for good".

Writing in London's Telegraph, Patel said Corbyn's "disdain for democracy" was causing "bewilderment and anger" among voters, and that the Labour leader wanted to delay an election because he thinks the public "can't be trusted to decide".

Duncan Smith said Britain was heading for a constitutional crisis "entirely of Labour's making" because Corbyn wanted to stop Brexit while denying the public a say in the matter.

Loading

If Johnson cannot force an election and fails to reach a deal with the EU, Duncan Smith said he must deny the will of Parliament and challenge Labour to find a way of preventing him taking Britain out of the EU at the end of next month.

"This is about Parliament versus the people. Boris Johnson is on the side of the people, who voted to leave the EU. The people are sovereign because they elect Parliament. But Parliament wants to stop the will of the people, and that is the side that Labour is on," the MP for Chingford & Woodford Green said.

If Johnson fails to carry out the will of Parliament, he risks being taken to court and, if a judge ordered him to obey Parliament, he could be held in contempt and even jailed if he refused. On Friday night wrote to Tory members saying Labour MPs had "left us no choice" but to call for an election.

"They just passed a law that would force me to beg Brussels for an extension to the Brexit deadline. This is something I will never do."

Loading

Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP and Plaid Cymru agreed  to block Johnson's election request. The leaders discussed a plan to hold back consent until after a summit of European leaders on October 17-19, in the hope that Johnson will have to request a Brexit delay. That would mean an election in the last week of November, with Thursday Nov 28 being the most likely date.

Johnson is expected to meet his strategy and legal advisers on Saturday prompting fears from some MPs that he is excluding ministers from the decision-making process.

Telegraph, London