John Bercow has vowed to block Boris Johnson from suspending parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.

The speaker of the House of Commons told an audience at the Edinburgh Fringe festival on Tuesday that he “strongly” believes the chamber ”must have its way”, in remarks reported by the Herald newspaper.

“And if there is an attempt to circumvent, to bypass or – God forbid – to close down parliament, that is anathema to me,” he said.

“I will fight with every breath in my body to stop that happening.”

His comments come as former chancellor Philip Hammond said the prime minister would commit a betrayal of the referendum if he enacted a no-deal Brexit by listening to the “unelected” saboteurs “who pull the strings” of his government.

Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Show all 5 1 /5 Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Made-up quote for The Times Johnson was sacked from The Times newspaper in the late 1980s after he fabricated a quote from his godfather, the historian Colin Lucas, for a front-page article about the discovery of Edward II’s Rose Palace. “The trouble was that somewhere in my copy I managed to attribute to Colin the view that Edward II and Piers Gaveston would have been cavorting together in the Rose Palace,” he claimed. Alas, Gaveston was executed 13 years before the palace was built. “It was very nasty,” Mr Johnson added, before attempting to downplay it as nothing more than a schoolboy blunder. PA Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Sacked from cabinet over cheating lie Michael Howard gave Boris Johnson two new jobs after becoming leader of the Conservatives in 2003 – party vice-chairman and shadow arts minister. He was sacked from both positions in November 2004 after assuring Mr Howard that tabloid reports of his affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt were false and an “inverted pyramid of piffle”. When the story was found to be true, he refused to resign. PA Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Broken promise to boss In 1999 Johnson was offered editorship of The Spectator by owner Conrad Black on the condition that he would not stand as an MP while in the post. In 2001 he stood - and was elected - MP for Henley, though Black did allow him to continue as editor despite calling "ineffably duplicitous" PA Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Misrepresenting the people of Liverpool As editor of The Spectator, he was forced to apologise for an article in the magazine which blamed drunken Liverpool fans for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and suggested that the people of the city were wallowing in their victim status. “Anyone, journalist or politician, should say sorry to the people of Liverpool – as I do – for misrepresenting what happened at Hillsborough,” he said. PA Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson ‘I didn’t say anything about Turkey’ Johnson claimed in January, that he did not mention Turkey during the EU referendum campaign. In fact, he co-signed a letter stating that “the only way to avoid having common borders with Turkey is to vote Leave and take back control”. The Vote Leave campaign also produced a poster reading: “Turkey (population 76 million) is joining the EU”

“The unelected people who pull the strings of this government know that this is a demand the EU cannot and will not accede to,” Mr Hammond said, writing in The Times.

“Most people in this country want to see us leave in a smooth and orderly fashion that will not disrupt lives, cost jobs or diminish living standards, whether they voted Leave or Remain in 2016,” he wrote.

“Parliament faithfully reflects the view of that majority and it will make its voice heard. No-deal would be a betrayal of the 2016 referendum result. It must not happen.”

Mr Hammond also accused “some key figures in the government” of “absurdly” suggesting no-deal would boost the UK’s economy.

The Sun has also reported that a separate letter with a similar sentiment was sent to the PM with the signatures of Mr Hammond and 20 other senior Tory MPs, including former cabinet ministers David Lidington, David Gauke, Rory Stewart and Greg Clark.

Mr Johnson has repeatedly refused to rule out suspending parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.

His cabinet have largely been unified over the process of exiting the EU.

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But on Tuesday Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, sounded a note of caution.

Ms Rudd said she would urge the prime minister not to suspend parliament as part of his “do or die” commitment for Brexit by 31 October.

A court in Scotland has agreed to fast-track a hearing on whether the prime minister can legally close parliament.

The hearing on the legality of the process will be held next month.