It comes as Boris Johnson failed for the third time to get Parliament's green light for a snap election, on the day the European Union confirmed a new Brexit deadline of January 31.

But he immediately indicated he would try again on Tuesday, saying British voters would find it "utterly bewildering" that MPs had chosen to "allow this paralysis to continue".

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And in a bid to win the support of minor parties he has promised not to bring back to Parliament the legislation that would ratify his Brexit divorce deal until after the election, it was reported on Monday.

Johnson had previously said he would bring back the Brexit deal legislation if he got the election he wants, and try to get it through Parliament before the election date so he could go to the polls after Brexit had happened.

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But now it appears he will settle for a pre-Christmas, pre-Brexit election, and argue for the deal's merits during the election campaign, with the aim of getting it through in a new Parliament before the new Brexit deadline.

"Now that no-deal is off the table we have a great new deal,” he said on Monday. "It's time for the voters to have a chance to pronounce on that deal and to replace this dysfunctional Parliament.”

An agitated Johnson insisted he still "would rather get Brexit done", however he believed it was "now overwhelmingly clear the only way to get Brexit done is to go to the people of this country" in an election.

He accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of having run out of excuses to refuse an election.

However Corbyn responded that Johnson "cannot be trusted" to stick to the December 12 election date he had promised, or to not try and engineer a no-deal Brexit.

If Johnson had won the vote he would have had the power to change the election date.

Corbyn also said a December 12 date was too close to Christmas, and students would have gone home for the holiday break.

PA with Nick Miller