British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday night outside 10 Downing Street that there are no circumstances in which he will ask the European Union (EU) to delay his country's departure from the bloc. In a defiant message, he said he wanted "everybody to know we are leaving on 31 October, no ifs or buts."

Despite frenzied media speculation that Johnson would announce calling or threatening to call a snap general election, Johnson said he did not want an election, the Xinhua news agency reported. Instead, he issued a plea urging rebel Conservative MPs not to block Britain's chances of leaving the EU without a deal.