UK will exit EU on Oct 31, assures Boris Johnson

UK's new Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday promised that Britain will exit from the European Union on October 31. He asserted that his 'new and better deal' will pave the way for Britain to develop a new and exciting partnership with the rest of Europe based on free trade and mutual support.

Speaking outside his 10 Downing Street office after being formally appointed, Al Jazeera quoted Johnson -- a pro-Brexit member of Britain's ruling Conservative Party-- as saying, "We will do a new deal, a better deal, that will maximise the opportunities of Brexit while allowing us to develop a new and exciting partnership with the rest of Europe based on free trade and mutual support."

"The people who bet against Britain are going to lose their shirts, because we are going to restore trust in our democracy, and we are going to fulfil the repeated promises of parliament to the people and come out of the EU on October 31, no ifs or buts," he added in his speech.

A new chapter in British politics initiated after Johnson won the leadership of his Conservative party and formally replaced Theresa May, who stood down over her failure to lead Britain out of the European Union.

Johnson has pledged to deliver Brexit in a period of three months what his predecessor Theresa May could not do in three years.

During his campaign, Johnson pledged to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement brokered during months of arduous negotiations between May and EU leaders or leave the bloc on the UK's scheduled departure date of October 31 without a deal.

The withdrawal agreement has already been rejected three times by the UK's parliament, prompting May to announce her resignation in May amid a political impasse.

If he cannot negotiate a new deal with the EU, Johnson has said that he'd be willing to force Brexit through on that date. He has refused to rule out suspending parliament in order to do so.

However, EU leaders have repeatedly ruled out renegotiating the withdrawal agreement and warned Johnson of "challenging times ahead".

The European Parliament's Brexit Steering Group (BSG) has said in a statement that a no-deal exit would be "economically very damaging, even if such damage would not be inflicted equally on both parties".