John Bercow warned Boris Johnson last night that he would help MPs determined to stop a no-deal Brexit with “procedural creativity” if the prime minister ignored a law telling him to extend Article 50.

In his first public comments since announcing his departure as Speaker, Mr Bercow appeared to compare Mr Johnson to a bank robber and suggested that Britain needed a US-style written constitution.

Mr Bercow told Mr Johnson that parliament would step in if he tried to bypass the law, saying: “Neither the limitations of the rulebook nor the ticking of the clock will stop it.” He added that the only “legitimate” form of Brexit would be one that “the House of Commons has explicitly endorsed”.

“One should no more refuse to request