The British government intends to go back to the negotiating table concerning leaving the European Union in a new Brexit deal even as accusations are rife that there is no basis for such talks.

In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Xinhua via email that: “The PM wants to meet EU leaders in Brussels and negotiate a new deal, one that abolishes the anti-democratic backstop.”

He further said, “We will throw ourselves into the negotiations with the greatest energy and the spirit of friendship and we hope the EU will rethink its current refusal to make any changes to the Withdrawal Agreement.”

He said even though the “Withdrawal Agreement” has been rejected by Parliament three times and will not pass in its current form the EU needs to change its stance to get a deal. Johnson insists the UK will continue to prepare to leave the EU on 31 October.

The latest comments came after the EU said Britain’s demands to remove the Irish backstop from Theresa May’s deal were unacceptable.

The withdrawal agreement negotiated by the former Prime minister Theresa May has been rejected three times by the British parliament.