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Dominic Raab today said the government will 'test to the limit' an anti-No Deal law passed by Remainer MPs as he appeared to pave the way for Brexit to end up in front of Supreme Court judges.

The Foreign Secretary said ministers will look 'very carefully legally' at what the rebel legislation, due to be given Royal Assent tomorrow, actually requires.

The law states that Boris Johnson must ask the EU for a Brexit delay beyond the October 31 deadline if Britain and the bloc have failed to strike an agreement in the run up to Halloween.

But Mr Johnson has repeatedly said he will not ask Brussels for an extension because it would mean breaking his 'do or die' pledge to deliver Brexit with or without a deal.

Mr Johnson's stance combined with Mr Raab's comments this morning suggest that the PM is ready to go ahead with a bombshell plan which emerged overnight which would see him defy the law and 'sabotage' a Brexit delay.

Under the plan, detailed in The Sunday Times, Mr Johnson will try to agree a new deal with Brussels at a summit on October 17.

But should he fail he will then reportedly refuse to comply with the anti-No Deal legislation passed by MPs and ignore the requirement to ask for an extension.

Dominic Raab told Sky News this morning that the government will look 'very carefully legally' at an anti-No Deal law passed by Remainer MPs

Downing Street believes such a course of action will guarantee an immediate judicial review in the Supreme Court with the fate of Brexit placed in the hands of judges, just days before the October 31 deadline.

The idea that Mr Johnson could defy the law was bolstered today after Sajid Javid, the Chancellor, said the government 'will not change its policy' on No Deal having to be a Brexit option and insisted the PM will not ask for an extension.

A number of Tory MPs responded to the suggestion that the PM could ignore the legislation by saying they would resign the Conservative whip if he went ahead with the plan.

It came after Amber Rudd quit the Cabinet and surrendered the Tory whip as she claimed the government was now focusing up to 90 per cent of its efforts on preparing for No Deal.

Meanwhile, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, said the EU would not agree to a Brexit delay in the current circumstances as he added: 'We are not going to do (extend) this every three months.'

Separately, Nigel Farage formally offered Mr Johnson a 'non-aggression pact' for the next general election if the PM changes tack and pursues a No Deal split.

The leader of the Brexit Party said an alliance would make them 'unstoppable' and secure Mr Johnson a 100 seat majority.

Sajid Javid told the Andrew Marr Show that Boris Johnson will not seek a Brexit delay when he attends an EU summit on October 17

Mr Johnson, pictured with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds as they returned from Balmoral following a visit with the Queen, will try to force an early election tomorrow

Mr Johnson will tomorrow try for a second time to trigger a snap general election as he urges MPs to back going to the country on October 15.

But opposition leaders have united and agreed they will not support an early poll taking place until a Brexit delay has been formally agreed with the EU to stop Britain crashing out of the bloc in just 53 days.

However, Downing Street has reportedly worked up a fall back plan should Mr Johnson's bid for an election fail.

The plan would see him ignore an anti-No Deal law passed by MPs and peers last week.

He would go to the final EU summit before Brexit and seek an agreement but should one not be forthcoming he would then refuse to ask for the delay the law states he must.

Such a move would spark a political, constitutional and legal firestorm because the PM would be acting in open defiance of the law.

Number 10 expects the matter would then be referred to the Supreme Court and legal experts believe Mr Johnson could ultimately risk a jail sentence if he fails to comply with the law.

A Number 10 source said: 'If there isn't a deal by the 18th we will sabotage the extension.'

Mr Raab appeared to suggest today that the government was gearing up for the anti-No Deal law to be tested in the courts.

He told Sky News: 'We will adhere to the law but we will also, because this is such a bad piece of legislation, the surrender bill that Jeremy Corbyn backed – we will also want to test to the limit what it does actually lawfully require.'

Asked to clarify his comments, the Foreign Secretary said: 'I mean across the board we will look very carefully legally at what it requires and what it doesn’t require.

'I think that’s not only the lawful thing to do, it’s also the responsible thing to do and again I’ll repeat, that legislation is lousy.'

Mr Raab said 'we are not extending' but then appeared to concede that the government could ultimately be forced to as he said: 'What I’m going to do is redouble our efforts to get a deal but in any event to leave by the end of October, I think that’s the right thing to do.

'Of course if we can’t do that, it is very clear that the blockage is Jeremy Corbyn, the Liberal Democrat’s and others who are not willing to respect the referendum and in the Liberal Democrat’s case, if there was a second referendum and people voted to leave they wouldn’t respect that either.'

Meanwhile, Mr Javid told the BBC that when Mr Johnson goes to the EU summit next month he will be seeking a deal, not a delay.

He said: 'First of all, the Prime Minister will go to the council meeting on the 17th and 18th (of October), he'll be trying to strike a deal.

'He absolutely will not be asking for an extension in that meeting.'

Any attempt to ignore the anti-No Deal law passed by Parliament would prompt a furious backlash from MPs and peers.

Last night Tory MPs warned the PM that they would resign the whip if Mr Johnson went through with such a strategy.

Kevin Hollinrake, a Conservative backbencher, told The Sunday Telegraph: 'You would see a significant number of Conservative MPs resigning the whip, including me.'

Number 10 believes that while the move would be unpopular in Westminster, it would resonate well with the Leave voters it wants to win over ahead of an early general election.

It came as Ms Rudd quit the government and surrendered the Tory whip as the UK's political meltdown continued apace.

Ms Rudd said she 'no longer believes leaving with a deal is the government's main objective'.

'He's so focused on one element, preparing for No Deal, he's not engaging enough with the need to get a deal,' she said.

'My mother used to say: "Judge a man by what he does and not by what he says". I am concerned that he's not doing enough to make true what he says is his priority.'

She also labelled his decision to eject 21 MPs from the Conservative party an 'act of political vandalism' and accused him of 'unwisely' putting parliament against the people.

Describing the decision to remove the whip from MPs as an 'assault on decency and democracy', she said: 'Number 10 wants the 21 not to be there as MPs because they need those seats to be occupied by people who support their No Deal plan.'

Last night a furious Number 10 source said: 'As the polls show, the voters are quite happy for the PM to get rid of people who don't want us to sort out Brexit.

'There are plenty of talented younger MPs to replace any deadwood.'

Ms Rudd's tweet tonight with her letter to the Prime Minister, a long-time friend and ally

Ms Rudd said today that she believed when it came to the crunch Mr Johnson would comply with the law.

She also told the BBC that she believed up to 90 per cent of the government's Brexit efforts were now focused on No Deal preparation.

She told the Andrew Marr Show: 'I am saying that 80 to 90 per cent of the work that I can see going on on the EU relationship is about preparation for No Deal.

'It's about disproportion. The purpose of this resignation is to make the point that the Conservative Party at its best should be a moderate party that embraces people with different views of the EU.'

Numerous senior Tories bemoaned Ms Rudd's decision to quit, including Health Secretary Matt Hancock who said he hoped 'other One Nation Tories will stay and fight for the values we share'.

Philip Hammond, the former chancellor and one of the 21 rebels to be expelled, replied: 'Sorry Matt, I’m afraid the Conservative Party has been taken over by unelected advisors, entryists and usurpers who are trying to turn it from a broad church into an extreme right-wing faction. Sadly, it is not the party I joined.'