Leadership contender Boris Johnson has said he will pull the UK out of the EU by the end of October “do or die”. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has also said he would be willing to leave with no deal, but has ruled out suspending Parliament to force through no deal. Speaking on Sky News, leading Brexiteer and Conservative Party MP Andrew Bridgen, claimed there was “no such thing” as no deal when quizzed by Sky host Adam Boulton.

The Sky presenter said: “If there is a no deal Brexit, do you think like Greg Clarke many thousands of jobs will be lost?”

Mr Bridgen quickly replied by saying: “No I don’t. There is no such thing as no deal now.

“There’s hundreds of deals that have been done with the European Union. On the City, aviation, the Channel Tunnel, Visas, and exporting goods across the continent. What I think will cost a lot of jobs is any continued uncertainty, which business hates, past the 31 October.

“We told business we were leaving in March, we didn’t leave. We said we were then leaving in April, we didn’t leave.

There is no such thing as no deal now

Andrew Bridgen

“They made loads of preparations, they have delayed investment decisions. This must be costing economic growth now.

He added: “We must end this uncertainty and we need to leave by October 31 and quite honestly, people like Greg Clarke and Philip Hammond have been roadblocks to preparing for no deal.

“I had always said the more you prepare for no deal, the less you are likely to need it.

“He undermines the future prime minister position in renegotiating if current cabinet ministers, are saying they won’t support no deal in any circumstances.”

It comes after Business Secretary Greg Clark told Sky News that “many thousands of jobs” could be lost if there is a no-deal Brexit.

He said: “I think that every person who considers the evidence that companies have given, whether it’s in the automotive sector, whether it’s in the food sector, whether it’s in aerospace, whether it’s in industries up and down the country.

“You know if you become less efficient and your ability to trade is impeded then of course losing your competitiveness means that there will be jobs that will be lost.”

Theresa May’s de-facto deputy, David Lidington, has claimed a no deal Brexit will increase pressure on the union.

Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, the Cabinet Office minister said: “I think the union of the United Kingdom is under pressure at the moment.

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“The fact that in the 2016 Europe referendum two nations of the UK voted to leave, two nations voted to remain, inevitably makes this a very difficult, delicate process. I think that with good will and a good deal, those tensions can be handled, but I think that the risk of no-deal is two-fold.

“I believe a no-deal outcome would do very serious harm to jobs, living standards and investment in the United Kingdom, and that is the consistent message I’ve been getting from businesses large and small.

“But also I think the pressures on the union would be greater because I think that damage that a no-deal exit would cause, the very divisive nature of the politics of such an outcome, would give heart and opportunities to those who, particularly in Scotland and in Northern Ireland, would like to see the United Kingdom as it currently exists brought to an end.

“Whereas I believe that the UK is a tremendously successful political and economic project that’s given great benefit to everyone living in it.”

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