LONDON, Sept 10 — Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost influence over Britain's withdrawal from the European Union yesterday when a law came into force demanding he delay Brexit until 2020 unless he can strike a divorce deal at an EU summit next month.

It was unclear what Johnson's next move in the Brexit crisis would be: While the law will oblige him to seek a delay unless he can strike a new deal, EU leaders have repeatedly said they have received no specific proposals.

As Johnson tries to break the deadlock in London, he will ask parliament a second time for an early national election but is likely to be defeated in a vote at around 2230 GMT on Monday. He will then suspend parliament until October 14.

Brexit, the United Kingdom's most significant geopolitical move in decades, remains in question more than three years since the 2016 referendum, with possible outcomes ranging from an exit on October 31 without a withdrawal agreement to smooth the transition, to abandoning the whole endeavour.

The bill seeking to block a no-deal exit, passed into law yesterday when it received assent from Queen Elizabeth, will force Johnson to seek a three-month extension to the October 31 deadline unless parliament has either approved a deal or consented by October 19 to leave without one.

"I'm absolutely undaunted by whatever may take place in parliament,” Johnson said in Dublin ahead of talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

"We must get Brexit done because the UK must come out on October 31, or else I fear that permanent damage will be done to confidence in our democracy in the UK,” Johnson said.

Johnson took over as prime minister in July after his predecessor Theresa May failed to push the Withdrawal Agreement through parliament.

Since then, Britain's three-year Brexit crisis has stepped up a gear, leaving financial markets and businesses bewildered by a array of striking political decisions that diplomats compare to the style of US President Donald Trump.

BlackRock, a US investment firm that manages US$6.8 trillion (RM23.4 trillion) of assets, said a no-deal Brexit or a referendum had become more plausible.

Against the US dollar, the pound trimmed gains to stand up 0.3 per cent on the day at US$1.2323. It jumped to a six-week high of US$1.2385 in London trading after economic data beat forecasts.

House of Brexit

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, champion of parliament in its move to rein in the prime minister over Brexit, took a veiled swipe at Johnson as he announced yesterday he would stand down from the role, issuing a warning to the government not to "degrade" parliament.

Johnson, a former journalist who derided the EU and later became the face of the 2016 Vote Leave campaign, has repeatedly promised to deliver Brexit on October 31 and has said he will not countenance any delay.

Ireland told Johnson yesterday that he must make specific proposals on the future of the Irish border if there is to be any hope of averting a no-deal Brexit, saying Dublin cannot rely on simple promises.

"In the absence of agreed alternative arrangements, no backstop is no deal for us,” Varadkar, standing beside Johnson outside the Irish government, told reporters. "We are open to alternatives, but they must realistic ones, legally binding and workable and we haven't received such proposals to date.”

The blunt remarks by Varadkar indicate the difficulty of Johnson's gamble of using the threat of a no-deal exit to convince Germany and France that they must rewrite an exit agreement struck last November.

"I want to find a deal, I want to get a deal,” Johnson said in Dublin, adding that there was plenty of time to find one before the October 17-18 EU summit.

The law that came into force on Monday does allow for one scenario in which a no-deal Brexit could take place on October 31 — if parliament approved a no-deal exit by October 19.

However the current parliament would be unlikely to switch stance and approve a no-deal exit by then, and Johnson's opponents are resisting an early election that might change the make-up of parliament.

Lawmakers voted 311 to 302 yesterday to demand the government publish documents relating to its planning for a no-deal Brexit and private communications from government officials involved in a decision to suspend parliament.

Those calling for the documents to be published say they will show that the decision to suspend parliament was politically motivated, as a way to limit parliamentary discussion on Brexit. The government said the suspension was to give Johnson the chance to set out a new legislative agenda. — Reuters