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UK will need changes if it can’t reach deal with EU over Brexit: May

Sunday, 01 October 2017 10:33 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 01 October 2017 10:51 AM ]

British Prime Minister Theresa May being interviewed by Andrew Marr during The Andrew Marr Show on October 1, 2017. (Photo via The Guardian)

British Prime Minister Theresa May says that the government will need some changes if it cannot reach a deal with the European Union over Brexit.

May made the remarks on Sunday in an interview with BBC Television in Manchester where the Conservatives have gathered for their annual conference.

"Government is working on what would need to be put in place if there is no deal, what we are also working on is ensuring we get a deal, get the right deal for the United Kingdom," May said.

"Government departments are looking to see what changes are needed, what we need to put in place."

May also said that her cabinet, including Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, is supporting her strategy to leave the bloc.

"What I have is a cabinet that is united in the mission of the government," she said.

"Boris is absolutely behind the Florence speech and the line that we have taken," she said in reference to a speech she delivered in Italy in September about her approach to Brexit.

In her speech, she stressed that the UK would leave the European Single Market, but noted that London still wanted economic relations with the bloc and it will not turn its back on Europe.

May also said that the British people never felt comfortable as a member of the EU, emphasizing that Britons want to make their own laws independently.

A week before May’s address in Florence, Johnson (pictured below) had laid out his vision for Brexit in what analysts saw as a challenge to May’s authority.

Johnson offered his 10-point plan for Britain’s successful exit from the block in Daily Telegraph. In the 4,000 word article, Johnson outlined a cost-benefit analysis on how leaving the bloc will bring Brits the most benefits for the smallest cost.

He revived the contested claim Brexit could free up £350m a week for the NHS, saying Brexit would put the Britons’ destiny back into their own hands, allowing them to make the UK the most “glorious” country on in the world.

Analysts said Johnson made the move in a bid to confirm himself as the no.1 candidate for the top post upon May’s likely demise.

May, in her interview with BBC, refused to deny that Johnson has become “unsackable.”

EU officials have been complaining that the British side has been weaseling out of its obligations and failing to address the three key points raised in previous Brexit talks: EU citizen rights, Northern Ireland's border and a divorce bill.

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