Boris Johnson has left the door open to staying on as prime minister - even if he loses a vote of no-confidence.

He refused to rule out stepping down in the event enough Tory MPs back a move from opposition parties to oust him over his plan to deliver Brexit on 31 October, with or without a deal.

The nuclear scenario has been mooted by some who are plotting to block a no-deal divorce from the EU by voting no-confidence in Mr Johnson and installing a national unity government to ask Brussels to delay Brexit.

At least one backbencher, the Tory former attorney general Dominic Grieve, has said it is the "only way" to ensure no-deal is stopped and vowed: "I will not hesitate to do that".

But others on the government benches could be reluctant to support him because they would automatically lose the party whip, and potentially trigger a constitutional crisis.


According to The Times on Tuesday, Downing Street has drawn up plans for Mr Johnson to stay on even if he does lose a no-confidence vote, to ensure Brexit happens on time.

The paper said Mr Johnson could simply call a general election for after Brexit day - leaving the UK to fall out of the EU automatically.

Under Article 50, the legal clause that a country uses to trigger its exit from the EU, Britain will leave without a deal on 31 October. This is unless a deal is passed by MPs or a government asks for a delay to the leaving date.

Asked what he would do in the event of a no-confidence vote, Mr Johnson said: "We are going to leave the EU on 31 October, which is what the people of this country voted for.

"It's what MPs voted for and that's what I think the parliamentarians of this country should get on and do."

Quizzed on if that meant he would disregard the will of parliament, Mr Johnson added: "I think that MPs should get on what they have promised over and over and over again to the people of this country.

"They will deliver on the mandate of 2016 and leave the EU on 31 October."

Some campaigners against no-deal have suggested a government of national unity could be set up to challenge Mr Johnson to the title of prime minister.

But whether Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn could then enter a coalition with them is far from certain.

His shadow chancellor John McDonnell yesterday confirmed he had "ruled out any pact, any coalition whatsoever" if Labour got into government.

Among the many concerns of leaving the union without a deal at the end of October is that of immigration, with EU nationals losing their automatic rights to live and work in the UK.

This has led to questions of whether this no-deal scenario would cause a shortage of workers in British industries.

PM reveals immigration shake-up

But on Thursday, Mr Johnson revealed plans for a fast-track visa scheme specifically directed toward those working in the science, engineering and technology sectors.

The scheme, Mr Johnson says, will be used as a ploy to attract "the very best minds from around the world" to the UK after Brexit.

"I want the UK to continue to be a global science superpower, and when we leave the EU we will support science and research and ensure that, far from losing out, the scientific community has a huge opportunity to develop and export our innovation around the world," he said.

The Home Office and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is now set to work with those in the science community to develop conditions for the visa, which the government hopes to launch later in the year.