Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Boris Johnson says the chances of a no-deal Brexit are ‘a million to one’… Boris Johnson has claimed that the chances of a no-deal Brexit happening are a “million to one” as he answered questions in a digital hustings event. The leadership frontrunner said that while he believed the chances of leaving the European Union without an agreement were remote, it was “vital” that the Government keep the option on the table in order to secure better terms with Brussels. Answering a series of questions submitted by the general public, Mr Johnson also played down suggestions he could seek to suspend Parliament to prevent it blocking Brexit. Similarly, he said he did not believe it necessary to call MPs back to Parliament during their summer holidays in order to provide more time to pass Brexit-related legislation. “I think our colleagues really are starting to come together,” he told an audience in central London. – Telegraph (£) …as he promises an Australian-style points system for immigration Boris Johnson has pledged to introduce an Australian-style points-based system for migrants to restore “public faith” in immigration control. Foreigners who want to work in Britain will have to be able to speak English and must have a job before they arrive if Mr Johnson becomes prime minister. The Tory leadership front-runner said foreign workers will not be allowed to “cut ahead in the queue” by taking jobs that British people can do, and will have no entitlement to benefits when they first arrive. He said it was vital to have control over the number of unskilled migrants coming to the UK from the EU and beyond, though he said Britain must be “much more open” to highly skilled migrants such as scientists. He added that he would be “tougher on those who abuse our hospitality”. – Telegraph (£) Tory leadership frontrunner pledges an Australian-style points system which could ban over-50s – Daily Mail Jeremy Hunt accused of taking voters for a ride after deadline gaffe… Jeremy Hunt’s allies accused him of opening the door to attacks by Boris Johnson after he mistakenly referred to the October 31 Brexit date as a “fake deadline” and was alleged to have suggested that Leave voters were little Englanders. Asked by a councillor on Twitter how he would unite the country after Brexit, Mr Hunt replied: “Deliver a Brexit that works for the 48 per cent not just the 52 per cent — a positive, open and internationalist Brexit, Great Britain not Little England.” His response was seized upon by Priti Patel, a supporter of Mr Johnson. She said: “Britain and the Conservative Party need a leader who will bring the country together, not perpetuate the divisive language used by Project Fear during the referendum.” – The Times (£) …as he says he would not force an election if Parliament refuses No Deal… Conservative leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt has said that unlike his rival, Boris Johnson, he would not force a general election, should Parliament take the option of no-deal off the table. The Foreign Secretary made the comments on ITV’s Peston show, clearly demarcating the differing standpoints of the two in the race for the Tory crown. Mr Johnson, who is seen as the front runner, has previously said he would call a general election should MPs pass a bill to take away the option of no-deal. Both candidates have promised they would take the United Kingdom out of the European Union by October 31, regardless of a deal or no-deal scenario. However, while Mr Hunt has ruled out suspending Parliament, Mr Johnson has refused to rule this out, meaning even if MPs opposed it, no-deal would still be forced through. – ITV News …while Dominic Grieve tables new amendment aimed at preventing a no-deal Brexit next week Conservative MPs implacably opposed to a no-deal Brexit will try to amend government legislation as early as next week, as a way of binding the hands of Boris Johnson. A cross-party group is planning another attempt to stop a no-deal Brexit after becoming increasingly alarmed at the tone of Johnson’s pledges to take Britain out of the European Union on 31 October, “do or die”. They are planning with Labour and other opposition parties to pass an amendment that would rule out leaving without a deal – or at least offer MPs the opportunity of a vote, before that happened. Under one plan, they will try to change the parliamentary estimates bill that comes before the House of Commons as early as next Tuesday, with an amendment to prevent a no-deal Brexit down in the names of Tory MP Dominic Grieve and Labour MP Margaret Beckett. It would stop the government being able to consume resources and spend cash if it pursued a no-deal Brexit policy. – Guardian Remainer rebel MPs are to mount a dramatic new bid to block a no-deal Brexit next week – The Sun Twenty MPs line up to defy Boris Johnson and block his no-deal Brexit – iNews DUP’s Arlene Foster says the October 31st Brexit deadline is ‘very important’ DUP leader Arlene Foster has said it is “very important” for the UK to leave the EU by 31 October. She said there was an opportunity for the new prime minister to “proactively” deal with the backstop. Mrs Foster said the fact Brexit had not happened yet had caused “discontent within the UK “. Britain was meant to leave the EU on March 31 but the date was pushed back after parliament failed to back a withdrawal deal. Speaking at a Policy Exchange event in London on Tuesday, Mrs Foster said she believed Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt would both be able to reach a Brexit agreement if they became prime minister. – BBC News > WATCH: DUP leader Arlene Foster speaking to Sky News yesterday Ministers ramp up no-deal Brexit plans, hiring ferries to bring in life-saving medicine – but Brits don’t need to stockpile at home Britain is ramping up preparations for a No Deal Brexit ahead of the new October deadline – with an express route to ship in emergency supplies. Ministers revealed today they will be able to get supplies in between 24 and 48 hours if needed if the UK leaves the EU without a deal later this year. That could come through ferries, planes or the channel tunnel. Previous plans for No Deal ferries were ditched after the March 31 deadline. In efforts to make sure businesses and Brits are as ready as possible for any outcome, ministers said they had published 750 notices since last August. 140,000 firms had been contacted too to ease any transition and hundreds of meetings have taken place at the highest levels of Government. In a statement from deputy PM David Lidington today, it said: “The Department of Health and Social Care is starting the process of setting up an express freight contingency arrangement to support continuity of supply of medicines and medical products. – The Sun EU claims it will never renegotiate May’s Brexit deal ‘full stop’ The European Commission has again reiterated that the Brexit withdrawal agreement will not be negotiated, “full stop” – despite claims by Boris Johnson that he would somehow be able to reopen talks. When asked whether the agreement could be reopened under any circumstances – including to stop a no deal or prevent a hard border in Ireland – a spokesperson for the commission was emphatic. “I can confirm, as has been repeated several times, we will not be renegotiating the withdrawal agreement, full stop,” she told reporters in Brussels. Asked to comment on what the view of Mr Johnson was within the EU institutions, the spokesperson said: “I would refrain from using any kind of adjectives to define any future prime minister of the United Kingdom and will repeat what we have said before, which is that the commission will work with any prime minister in the spirit of good cooperation.” – Independent More voters want to quit the EU now than at the time of Brexit referendum More voters want Britain to quit the EU now than at the time of Brexit referendum, a fresh poll has revealed. 57 per cent said they thought we should still leave the EU in some way, three years after Brits originally voted for Brexit in 2016. 43 per cent want Britain to Remain, and 16 per cent wanted a softer Brexit, the YouGov research for The Times showed. Just 13 per cent wanted us to quit the bloc with Theresa May’s dead deal, compared to 28 per cent who stressed Britain should leave with no deal at all. The polling comes as Boris hardened his Brexit position yesterday, vowing to take us out of the EU by October 31 “do or die”. He insisted that the Conservative party will be heavily punished if we don’t come out, and only he was the person to restore Brits’ trust in politicians. – The Sun Lib Dem leadership hopeful Ed Davey suggests Yvette Cooper or Hilary Benn should lead a unity government to halt Brexit The Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Ed Davey has suggested his party could back Yvette Cooper or Hilary Benn as head of a government of national unity, to be installed instead of a general election if the government lost a no-confidence vote. The Lib Dem contender admitted he had not spoken to Cooper or Benn about the plan and said the unity government’s sole purpose would be to oversee a second referendum and then dissolve parliament and hold a general election. Davey said the plan would “take some persuasion” but could be a way to attract Conservatives to vote down their own government if they were wary of their actions leading to Jeremy Corbyn winning an election. Cooper, who has been at the forefront of cross-party efforts to stop a no-deal Brexit, has never endorsed a second referendum. – Guardian MPs’ holiday may be cut short in an attempt to end the Brexit deadlock Tory chiefs may axe the traditional party conference “recess” later this September to help the new PM break the Brexit deadlock. Cabinet sources told The Sun that talks were under way to consider calling MPs back for 10 extra days given the lack of parliamentary time before the October 31 deadline for a deal with the EU. Boris Johnson last night told a Tory hustings that there was no need to bin MPs’ summer holidays from July 25 to September 3. He said: “I think we can get this thing done without having to resort to such desperate expedience.” But under the plans being considered by whips, MPs would be forced to come in for two extra weeks over at the end of September and early October. – The Sun Owen Paterson: Boris is right – delivering Brexit by October 31 really is ‘do or die’ for the Tory party The Conservative Leadership race has now moved out of Parliament and into the country, where Party members will make up their minds over the series of hustings before the poll closes on July 22. But members casting their votes over the coming weeks should be in no doubt that the choice they face is binary. Boris Johnson has been absolutely clear in the approach he will take to Brexit. He has recognised that Theresa May’s draft Withdrawal Agreement is completely and unrevivably dead, so he is not proposing mere tinkering with it, or more woolly commitments in the legally non-binding Political Declaration. He has set out that a completely fresh approach with fresh vision and fresh impetus is required to secure what we want and what the British people voted for: the UK’s full withdrawal from the European Union, taking back control of our money, laws and borders, and forging a new, mutually-beneficial trading relationship with our closest neighbours. – Owen Paterson MP for the Telegraph (£) James Forsyth: Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy is to play chicken with the EU Theresa May’s Brexit strategy was to play chicken with parliament. Boris Johnson’s is to play chicken with the EU. Theresa May believed that if she pressed on with her deal, parliament would – ultimately – blink and pass it. Her thinking was that MPs’ scared of no deal would vote for her deal to avoid that outcome. While Brexiteer MPs who didn’t like the deal, would back it in the end to be sure Britain did leave the EU. May’s approach failed because she was trying to squeeze two groups simultaneously with two different messages. Crucially, she also blinked – she didn’t resist the Cooper, Letwin, Boles attempt to force her to seek an extension. If she had, she would have found out how many Labour MPs were prepared to vote for her deal to avoid no deal. – James Forsyth for The Spectator Nick Timothy: Brexit without a deadline risks no Brexit at all If Conservatives accept that Britain must leave the European Union, they have to be honest about their bottom line – that we would leave without a deal – and set a hard deadline for our departure. Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt say that they would lead Britain out of the EU without a deal if a new one cannot be agreed. But on the deadline, they differ. Mr Johnson says we must leave no later than October 31, “come what may, do or die”. Mr Hunt insists that this is a “fake deadline”, which risks a general election and no Brexit at all. Unfortunately, Mr Hunt’s approach has been tried twice already. Britain was due to leave the European Union on March 29. This was pushed back to April 12, and then to October 31. Without a real deadline, we can expect the same delays. With a Parliament of Remainers and ministers who do not believe in Brexit, MPs will choose to kick the can further down the road. “No deal is better than a bad deal” will once more become: “No Brexit is better than no deal.” – Nick Timothy for the Telegraph (£) John Redwood: The EU Vietnam free trade agreement All those who write to me to complain that the UK might sign a Free Trade Agreement with the USA not to their liking might like to concentrate on the Free Trade Agreements we have to accept, entered into by the EU for us. This week the EU has signed a new agreement with Vietnam. There has been no debate in Parliament about it, and the UK has no right to reject it or to require improvements and amendments. It is a long and complex document. The tariff reductions are asymmetric, with 7 years to get EU tariffs to zero, and more than 10 years to get all Vietnam tariffs to zero. Both sides pledge themselves to the doctrine of equivalence over sanitary and phytosanitary matters. The provisions on animal welfare are unclear. – John Redwood’s Diary Asa Bennett: Brexiteers have nailed Boris Johnson down and will accept no excuses for delaying Brexit From the moment Boris Johnson promised at the start of his Tory leadership campaign to ensure the United Kingdom left the European Union on October 31st “deal or no deal”, I thought it was worth keeping an eye on how closely he stuck to that pledge. Mr Johnson seemed to go off track in last week’s BBC debate, suggesting that the Halloween deadline was just “eminently feasible”. Such wayward remarks have clearly driven his Tory Eurosceptic backers to take a closer interest in his campaign, with Iain Duncan Smith now taking the reins. The IDS influence has already had an impact, with the leadership frontrunner happy to tie himself in unquestionable terms to Brexit by October 31. – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Brexit in Brief Remainers’ irrational terror of Boris epitomises our toxic new politics – Allister Heath for the Telegraph (£) Brexit Party misses first deadline to form political group in European Parliament – Politico Japan’s foreign minister warns Britain a no-deal Brexit could threaten UK’s automotive industry – Daily Mail