Johnson will push for polls if he loses Brexit vote

LONDON, Oct 23 (Xinhua): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said he will pull his Brexit bill and push for an election if it is voted down in parliament later in the day.

"If parliament refuses to allow Brexit to happen... in no circumstances can the government continue with this," he told lawmakers. "With great regret I will have to say the bill will have to be pulled and we will have to go forward to a general election."

The House of Commons will vote on the proposed three-day timetable at around 19:00 BST.

Johnson said that if the lawmakers back his Withdrawal Agreement Bill then "we can get Brexit done and move our country on."

London and Brussels reached a Brexit deal, known as the Withdrawal Agreement, last week, it needs to be approved by the British parliament to become legally binding before Britain leaves the European Union.

If the British government can force its Brexit bill through parliament in time, Britain could in theory still leave the European Union by the Oct. 31 deadline.