Johnson: Brexit will happen on October 31 and I won't resign over Supreme Court ruling

Boris Johnson has said he will not resign as prime minister following a Supreme Court judgement that he unlawfully misled the Queen in his advice to prorogue Parliament.

In an interview with ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston he repeated that the UK will leave the European Union on October 31, despite a law ordering him to request an extension if he cannot reach a deal with the EU.

He said the "timetable is very tight" to win a deal and says it is not made easier by "Parliament passing stuff that tries to take no deal off the table".

Despite the so-called Benn Bill - a law forcing him to request a Brexit extension - the PM said: "We will respect the law and we will come out on October 31."

The Supreme Court ruled that Boris Johnson misled the Queen. Credit: PA

When asked how he could both obey the law and ensure Brexit by October 31, Mr Johnson said: "If you’ll forgive me, I don’t want to tip the hand of the UK government more than Parliament has already required us to do so."

The prime minister was speaking to Peston after cutting short a United Nations, New York trip in order to attend the Commons following the historic Supreme Court ruling.

On the judgement - which ruled he unlawfully misled the Queen in his advice to prorogue Parliament - Mr Johnson said he believed it was "wrong".

He defended himself against the accusation that he lied to the monarch and doubled down on his original reasoning that the prorogation was in order to allow for a Queen's Speech.

He also reiterated his calls for a general election, saying leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn and opposition MPs were "running away".

  • ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston's full interview with the prime minister Boris Johnson