Johnson refuses to rule out suspending Parliament

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to rule out suspending Parliament in an effort to force through a no-deal exit from the European Union. In response, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said that in such a case, the United Kingdom would be at the "mercy" of the United States for a trade deal.

At the closing news conference of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France on Monday, Johnson said it was the job of all members of UK Parliament to deliver Brexit by the end of October.

Asked if he would commit to not suspending Parliament, Johnson avoided the question and repeated his demand to scrap the backstopa contingency plan to retain close ties with the EU to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and EU member Republic of Ireland after the UK's exit.

On Sunday, Johnson had told the BBC the chances of securing a new Brexit deal with the EU were "touch and go" - but on Monday he said, "I am marginally more optimistic."

He continued, "But, remember that all statistical estimates that I give about the chances of a deal - whether they are expressed in odds of millions to one, or getting closer, or hotter or colder, or whatever - they all depend exclusively on the willingness of our friends and partners to compromise on that crucial point and to get rid of the backstop and the current withdrawal agreement."

Writing in the Independent newspaper, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn warned a no-deal Brexit "will not return sovereignty" to the UK, but that it will put the country at the "mercy" of US President Donald Trump.

Corbyn said that exiting the EU without a deal would leave the UK vulnerable to "big US corporations dying to get their teeth into our NHS", and also "sound the death knell for our steel industry, and strip back our food standards and animal welfare protections.

The comments came as Corbyn was scheduled on Tuesday to meet with senior MPs from other opposition parties to discuss ways to avoid the UK leaving the EU without a deal on Oct 31.