‘Deal or no deal’: Boris Johnson says UK must be prepared to quit EU with failed talks

Britain should be prepared to walk away from the negotiating table with the EU with no deal says British prime ministerial hopeful Boris Johnson.

“We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal,” Johnson told an economic conference in Switzerland. “The way to get a good deal is to prepare for a no deal.”

When asked if he would run for leadership of the Tory Party, Johnson nonchalantly replied, “of course” he would, adding that a new leader would be afforded the “opportunity to do things differently.”

Johnson had long been tapped as a potential successor to the now-outgoing Theresa May, throughout his predecessor’s arduous Brexit back-and-forth with negotiators in Brussels since she took office on July 13, 2016.

He was a key figure in the Brexit campaign and has already thrown his hat in the ring vying for leadership of the Tory party, alongside British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. He offered his condolences to May but wasted no time in launching his leadership bid.