Boris Johnson could end up in prison if ignored a bill requiring him to delay Brexit, the former Director of Public Prosecutions has said.

Lord MacDonald said the PM could be found in contempt of court for ignoring the bill, which rapidly passed through Parliament this week and is expected to become law on Monday.

The legislation will give Johnson a mandate to ask for an Article 50 extension to stay in the European Union up to January 31.

That is unless MPs agree on a no-deal Brexit before 19 or if divorce deal is reached with the EU by Halloween.

When asked by Sky News for an ‘extreme outcome’ of Johnson ignoring the law, Mr MacDonald, 66, said: ‘It is by convention that if you are found guilty of defying a court order then you are jailed’.

Johnson has hinted that he would refuse to enact the upcoming law, telling reporters: ‘I will not. I don’t want a delay.’

He said he is only bound ‘in theory’ by the law, signalling the UK could be heading towards an even bigger constitutional crisis.

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve, who had the whip removed by the Tories this week for rebelling against the government said the PM cannot ignore the law.

He said: ‘A Prime Minister is subject to the law of the land just like anybody else.

‘If he were to attempt to ignore it the government would be taken to court and he would be ordered to send the letter.

‘And if he didn’t send the letter he would be sent to prison for contempt.’

A cross-party group of MPs are believed to have instructed a legal team to ensure he cannot ignore Parliament’s demands.

Mr MacDonald added: ‘A refusal in the face of that would amount to contempt of court which could find that person in prison.’

In a letter to all Conservative Party members, Johnson said: ‘They just passed a law that would force me to beg Brussels for an extension to the Brexit deadline. This is something I will never do.’

However this assurance could also be interpreted as Johnson signalling he is ready to resign over the crisis.

When asked if he would step down if he couldn’t fulfill his ‘do or die’ pledge to leave by October 31, Johnson said: ‘That is not a hypothesis I am willing to contemplate.’

Last night former Tory leader and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said Johnson would be ‘martyred’ if he risked going to prison and urged him to stand his ground.

He told The Telegraph: ‘This is about Parliament versus the people. Boris Johnson is on the side of the people, who voted to leave the EU.

‘The people are sovereign because they elect Parliament. But Parliament wants to stop the will of the people.’

But others in his ranks, including cabinet ministers, have urged him to ‘come up with a plan B’ after his calls for a snap general election were rejected in the Commons.

Members of Eurosceptic Conservative Party think tank the European Research Group are now thought to be holding ‘very tentative’ discussions on the possibility of a pact with the Brexit Party/

But Johnson’s chief strategist Dominic Cummings, the director of the Vote Leave campaign, refused to team up with Nigel Farage while he worked with Leave.EU – which could thwart any future alliance.

One source told the Daily Telegraph: ‘There have been conversations between the Brexit Party and the ERG. Not just with Farage but also at a local level. The feeling is that it would be mad to let the Remainers do an alliance but not the Brexiteeers.’

But other Tory euro skeptics including Steve Baker warned the PM not to get in bed with the Brexit Party if he wanted to win a majority at the next general election.

The PM watched his majority disappear in real-time, after MP Philip Lee defected to the Liberal Democrats in the middle of a parliamentary session.

This was before the party withdrew the whip from 21 rebel MPs for voting against the government on Tuesday night.

Johnson’s second attempt to call for a general election on Monday is likely to be rejected, after a cross party alliance vowed to block one until no-deal Brexit had been taken off the table.

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