UK Foreign Secretary and Conservative leadership contender Jeremy Hunt said Monday that he would decide whether a Brexit deal can get through the House of Commons by September 30th if he became prime minister.

At a speech in London outlining his 10 point plan for Brexit, Hunt said that he would ramp up no-deal preparations "on day one" if he was elected, pledging a 6 billion pound (7.6 billion US dollar) fund to support the fishing and farming sectors who export to Europe.

Hunt added that if he assessed there was no deal to be done he would "immediately cease all discussions with the European Union and focus the whole country's mission on no deal preparations."

He assured EU citizens that their rights would be protected whatever the outcome.

Hunt clarified that no deal was "not my preferred destination, but if a withdrawal deal is simply not on the cards, then the only way to fulfill the democratic mandate of the referendum is to leave without a deal, which is what we will do."

The discussion over a no-deal Brexit is at the forefront of the battle for the leadership of the Conservative Party between Hunt and Boris Johnson.

The winner will become prime minister next month.

Johnson, a former mayor of London, has said Britain will leave on October 31 "do or die" while Hunt says it's an artificial deadline that could be extended again.

Brexit has already been delayed from its original date of March 29 after Parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal three times.

Both leadership candidates have said they will look to negotiate changes to the withdrawal agreement that deals with citizens' rights post-Brexit, Britain's financial obligations to the EU and making sure no hard border returns between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

UK POOL

London - 1 July 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"Throughout the campaign I've made it clear that my preference is for us to leave with a better deal, one that addresses the problems with the existing deal and specifically the backstop, ensures we have a fully independent trade policy and allows us to design our own immigration system. I know that with my experience of business and government I'm the best placed candidate to get that better deal. But I also know that renegotiation will not be easy. But it won't be impossible either. And with the parliamentary arithmetic that we face, securing a deal that can pass through Parliament remains the quickest and safest way to deliver Brexit."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"But what if the European Union refuses to budge? We need a comprehensive no deal plan, because Brexit is about more than slogans more than belief more than positive thinking. You can't leave the European Union on a wing and a prayer. You need a plan. Today I'm setting up my ten point plan. Firstly on day one of my premiership I will order an immediate ramping up of no deal preparations."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"In order to avoid a 'take it or leave it approach' which would be fatal to negotiations, I and the Brexit secretary will engage with European leaders and the European Commission during July and August to do our very best to come to an agreed way forward. I'll also establish fifthly a National Logistics Committee led by the Department of Transport to produce a plan to keep goods flowing in and out of the UK in the event of no deal. This will include an assessment of any emergency powers required to ensure ports and airports will work in a coordinated way nationally."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"The Treasury will start preparations on a no deal Brexit budget to be delivered the first week Parliament is back in September. This will include my existing policies of cutting corporation tax to 12 and a half percent, increasing the Annual Investment Allowance to five million pounds and taking 90 percent of high street businesses out of rates which I will introduce in any circumstance. Number seven, HMT will also produce a no deal relief programme. This will include a six billion pound fund for the fishing and farming sectors who export to Europe to ease transition out of the European Union whilst honouring our international obligations. It will also consider what relief other industries will require."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"I'll make a judgment on the 30th of September as to whether there is a realistic chance of a new deal being agreed that can pass through the House of Commons. If my judgment and the judgment of my cabinet is that there is a deal to be done, I will seek to conclude the negotiations and pass a new meaningful vote and any necessary legislation in the House of Commons before the end of October. If my judgment is that there is no deal to be done I will immediately cease all discussions with the European Union and focus the whole country's mission on no deal preparations. One thing I will not negotiate on is citizens rights. So to put the millions of EU citizens who have made the UK their home, to put them all at ease I can reconfirm to them that their rights in the UK will be protected whatever the outcome."

++BLACK FRAMES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"If the (European) Commission engages in good faith and negotiations are going well, then I don't believe we should ignore progress made and throw away that deal for the sake of an arbitrary deadline. With a deal done, billions more will be available to invest in the economic and social missions that I've set out and we should welcome that. But I want to be crystal clear with members of the Conservative party, with my parliamentary colleagues and with the European Union: if there is no engagement on this deal, if it's apparent that the Commission is simply not interested in negotiating, if there's no willingness to tackle the shortcomings of the backstop and if there is no immediate prospect of a deal that can get through Parliament, then there will be no kicking the can down the road and we will intensify and finalise our preparations to leave without a deal. So from the start of my premiership I will work on the basis that we are leaving on the 31st of October with or without a deal unless the Commission changes its position. No deal is not my preferred destination, but if a withdrawal deal is simply not on the cards, then the only way to fulfill the democratic mandate of the referendum is to leave without a deal, which is what we will do."

++BLACK FRAMES++

The Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament said on Thursday that the UK deciding to leave the European Union had caused a renewal of interest in the European project.

Speaking at an event at the London School of Economics, Guy Verhofstadt said that the EU had gained popularity since the UK's referendum last year.

In a wide ranging speech on Brexit, Verhofstadt also put forward a vision of an ever closer union of remaining European Union states including the chance to elect politicians at a European level, as opposed to just nationally.

++NO CUTAWAYS AVAILABLE - SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

AGENCY POOL

London - 28 August 2017

1. Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, walking to lectern

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"I have to tell you that I also know why Theresa May gave her speech in Florence. I presume that I know it. I think she chose Florence because Florentine politics in the 15th Century made her feel at home I think. You know, backstabbing, betrayal, noble families fighting for power and so, and so on, so I think that this is an environment that she recognised very well."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"At the very beginning she referred to the renaissance as a period of history that defined what it meant to be European. Well that's exactly what the European Union is all about. The European Union, ladies and gentlemen is far more than a peace process after the Second World War, far more than the Franco-German reconciliation alone. The European Union is all about civilisation. It's in fact the political translation of that civilisation, of that European common culture and values. That is what this European Union is about."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"So criticising people for wanting to keep their European identity, accusing them of split allegiance is binary, is old fashioned. I think it's reductionist view on identity. I think it's perfectly possible but I look to the Mayor (of London, Sadiq Khan, in the audience), who has more experience, to be a Londoner, English, British, and European at the same time and there is no contradiction and that has nothing to do with split allegiance. So my message at the beginning of my intervention - watch out, beware of politicians who want to define your identity. The only reason they do so is to categorise people. To reduce you to your nationality, your ethnicity your religion and, split allegiance are two words that belong to the langauge of states that are in my opinion totalitarian, and not of democracies, not of democracies like Britain. In all democracies, people they find their own allegiance, define themselves how British, how European they feel and not the minister of foreign affairs, if I may say so (in reference to UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson)."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"I have to tell you very honestly, and I've said this already a few times but i want to repeat it here in London, but I continue to believe that Brexit is a very negative project, that it is in fact a waste of time and energy. The destruction of a strong political bond that made people on both sides of the channel richer freer than ever before. But we are democrats. We have to respect the outcome of the referendum. And more over we have to implement it and that is exactly what Europe will do and also will establish a new relationship, a new relationship between the European Union and the UK that hopefully will be beneficial for everybody, for both. And if you ask me the question, is there really, really, really, nothing positive you can say about Brexit, well I can say yes, there is something positive. It has opened people's eyes on the continent."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"There has been a fundamental shift in the thinking about Europe, in the heads of a number of people and leaders in Europe. And that is not to look anymore to Europe and the European Union as a bunch of nation-states, but as a genuine political community, as a democracy on a continental scale, and two proposals that I already defended a number of years ago but nobody believed to be realistic - they were dreams that would never realise themselves - are proof of that. The first proposal is the call, we have seen that I hope, for transnational list, the idea to turn the European Union into one big constituency and to give to all citizens in Europe two ballots - one to choose their own representative of their country in the parliament and the second one to elect a number of politicians on the European level, what in my opinion would make European politics more democratic and what will lift in fact this European democracy on a continental scale, what we absolutely need."

7. Verhofstadt being seated

Nominations close on Monday in the Brexit-dominated race to become Britain's next prime minister, a contest that will be decided by lawmakers and members of the governing Conservative Party.

With a 1600 GMT deadline to submit nomination papers, almost a dozen contenders were already battling it out over tax policy, past drug use - and, of course, Britain's stalled departure from the European Union.

The winner will face the challenge of breaking Britain's impasse over Brexit, an issue that has bedevilled politicians for three years and ultimately defeated outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May.

The favourite on betting markets is Boris Johnson, a former foreign secretary with an instantly recognizable mop of blond hair and a knack for entertaining the public.

He says he will take Britain out of the bloc without a deal if necessary, and on Monday promised a tax cut for millions of middle- and high-income Britons.

Unlike the other candidates, Johnson hasn't given television interviews or held any public events, as his campaign team tries to avoid gaffes that could spoil his front-runner status.

For all candidates, the key issue is Brexit.

The Conservatives have been hammered in recent European and local elections as voters punish the party for failing to leave the 28-nation EU.

"The leadership I offer is based on one simple truth; without Brexit there will be no Conservative government and maybe no Conservative Party," Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said as he officially launched his campaign on Monday.

Hunt backed the losing "remain" side during the 2016 EU membership referendum, but now says he will negotiate a better Brexit deal with the EU and lead the UK out of the bloc.

Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab is competing with Johnson for the support of hardcore Brexiteers.

He said on Monday that Britain had "suffered a loss of nerve" and must not delay its departure from the EU  beyond October 31.

He has even suggested he could suspend Parliament if it tried to delay or impede Brexit.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock pitches himself as the face of a younger, modernising generation in the Conservative Party.

Promising to deliver an energising blend of social liberalism and economic dynamism, he said on Monday that the Conservatives had to look beyond Brexit - a message that may be coming too soon for many in the party.

UK POOL

London, 10 June 2019

1. Various of Conservative leadership contender and former foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, leaving his home, getting into car and being driven away ++PLEASE NOTE: DIGITAL BREAK UP DUE TO STILLS CAMERA FLASHES++

2. Wide of Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt during the official launch of his campaign

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary and Conservative leadership contender:  

"The leadership I offer is based on one simple truth; without Brexit there will be no Conservative government and maybe no Conservative Party. Whoever delivers Brexit will win the next election for the Conservative Party, but without Brexit, no Conservative Prime Minister can win."

4. Hunt walking from podium to applause

5. Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab arriving at official launch of his leadership campaign

6. Cutaway journalist

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominic Raab, Former Brexit Secretary and Conservative leadership contender:

"We've suffered a loss of nerve. We need new leadership and that leadership needs to be bold, infused with some of that stubborn optimism. This is a crossroads in our history, we're on the cusp of momentous change. One thing I know, we can't just keep limping on like this without a clear sense of direction, without a clear sense of purpose. The tired approach that got us into this mess is not going to get us out of it."

8. Wide of Raab at podium

9. Matt Hancock, UK Health Secretary and Conservative leadership contender, arriving at official launch of his campaign

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Hancock, UK Health Secretary and Conservative leadership contender:

"Some people say that we need a Brexiteer, that with the need to deliver Brexit, we've got to have a Brexiteer. I think that's getting it completely the wrong way round. We need to deliver Brexit and as a party, we need to win back the voters who voted for the Brexit Party because we haven't delivered it yet."

11. Hancock leaving after speech

Britain should make a clean break with European Union laws and regulations after it leaves the bloc, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Wednesday, arguing that the UK will prosper after Brexit by "going global."

Johnson, who was a leader of the "leave" campaign during Britain's 2016 EU membership referendum, used a speech in London to argue for "an outward-facing, liberal and global Britain" after the UK leaves the bloc.

"We would be mad to go through this process of extrication from the EU and not to take advantage of the economic freedoms it will bring," he said.

It was the first in a series of speeches by senior ministers that the British government hopes will show unity and energy around Brexit after months of prevarication and mixed messages.

But Johnson's speech highlighted divisions within the Conservative government over what kind of relationship Britain wants with the EU after it leaves the bloc in March 2019.

Some ministers, including Treasury chief Philip Hammond, want to stay as close as possible to the bloc's borderless single market and tariff-free customs union. Others, including Johnson, want a definitive break so Britain can pursue a distinct economic policy and new trade deals.

With just over a year until Britain leaves the EU, the two factions are still fighting for supremacy in the UK government.

Johnson said Britain should not agree to accept EU rules in return for access to its markets, saying it would be "absurd if we had to obey laws over which we had no say and no vote."

He said "it's only by taking back control of our regulatory framework and our tariff schedules" that Britain can strike new trade deals with the United States and other countries.

Johnson is among the favourites to replace Prime Minister Theresa May as Conservative leader. But his prominent role in the anti-EU campaign - and an earlier role as a Brussels-based journalist writing sometimes fanciful stories about the bloc's bureaucracy - has made him unpopular with pro-EU politicians and voters.

In his speech, Johnson sought to reassure voters who wanted to remain in the EU that Brexit can be grounds for much more hope than fear.

Opponents of Brexit were unimpressed, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Johnson's claim that the EU aimed to build a European super-state was "total nonsense."

UK POOL

London - 14 February 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"If we are going to accept laws, then we need to know who is making them, and with what motives, and we need to be able to interrogate them in our own language, and we must know how they came in authority over us and how we can remove them. And the trouble with the EU is that for all its idealism, which I acknowledge, and for all the good intentions of those who run the EU institutions, there is no demos – or at least we in the UK I don't think have ever really felt part of such a demos – however others in the EU may feel. The British people have plenty of common sympathies with the people of France, of course we do, but it is hard to deny that we also share common sympathies with plenty of non-EU people – the Americans, the Swiss, the Canadians, the Pakistanis, Thais, and that is one of the reasons why we in the UK have had such difficulty in adapting to the whole concept of EU integration. To understand why EU regulation is not always suited to the economic needs of the UK, it is vital to understand that EU law is a special type of law, unlike anything else on earth. It is not just about business convenience. It is expressly teleological. It is there to achieve a political goal. The aim is to create an overarching European state as the basis for a new sense of European political identity. British politicians, Labour and Tory, have always found that ambition very difficult. It is hard to make it cohere with our particular traditions of independent parliamentary and legal systems that go back centuries, and in spite of many sheep-like coughs of protest from the UK, the process of integration has deepened, and the corpus of EU law has grown ever vaster and more intricate, and ever more powers and competences have been handed to EU institutions, culminating in the Treaty of Lisbon."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"We would be mad to go through this process of extrication from the EU, and not to take advantage of the economic freedoms it will bring. We will stop paying ever more colossal sums to the EU every year and as the Prime Minister herself has said, that will leave us with more to spend on our domestic priorities, including, yes, the NHS. We will be able to take back control of our borders – not because I am hostile to immigrants or immigration. Far from it. We need talented people to come and make their lives in this country – doctors, scientists, the coders and programmers who are so crucial to Britain's booming tech economy. It was my proudest boast as Mayor of London that we had 400-thousand French men and women living in the British capital – high-earning and high-spending types – while only about 20-thousand UK nationals went the other way, lived in Paris. We've got to stay that way, we must remain a magnet for ambition and drive. But we also need to ask ourselves some hard questions about the impact of 20 years of uncontrolled immigration by low-skilled, low-wage workers – and what many see as the consequent suppression of wages and failure to invest properly in the skills of indigenous young people. We do not want to haul up the drawbridge; and we certainly don't want to minimise the wonderful contribution they made and certainly we don't want to deter the international students who make such a vital contribution to our Higher Education economy, 155-thousand Chinese students alone, but we want to exercise control; and if we are going to move from a low-wage, low-productivity economy to a high-wage, high productivity economy – as we must – then Brexit gives us back at least one of the levers that we need."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"It would be absurd if we were obliged to obey laws over which we have no say and no vote. As the Prime Minister said at Lancaster House remaining within the single market 'would to all intents and purposes mean not leaving the EU at all.' The British people should not have new laws affecting their everyday lives imposed from abroad, when they have no power to elect or remove those who make those laws."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"We will decide on laws, not according whether they help to build the United States of Europe, noble goal though that may be, but because we want to create the best platform for the economy to grow and to help people live their lives. And the crucial thing is that when we're running ourselves and when all these freedom are open before us, we'll no longer bbe able to blame Brussels for our woes because our problems will be our responsibility and no one else's and indeed no one should think that Brexit is some sort of economic panacea any more than it is right to treat it as an economic pandemic. On the contrary, the success of Brexit will depend on what we make of it."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"It's only by taking back control of our laws that UK firms and entrepreneurs will have the freedom to innovate without the risk of having to comply with some directive devised by Brussels at the urgings of some lobby group with the specific aim of holding back a UK competitor. That would be intolerable, it would be undemocratic and it would make it impossible for us to do serious free trade deals. It's only by taking back control of our regulatory framework and our tariff schedules that we can do these deals and exploit the changes in the world economy."

++BLACK FRAMES++

The United Kingdom's foreign secretary said on Wednesday that Brexit does not mean a return to the 1950s and the days of eating "spam and cabbage and liver".

Delivering a speech in London to argue for "an outward-facing, liberal and global Britain", Boris Johnson said last June's vote to leave the bloc was "about going global".

Johnson was a leader of the "leave" campaign during Britain's 2016 EU membership referendum.

He said that were there to be a second referendum it would be "another year of turmoil and wrangling and feuding in which the whole country would be the loser," adding "let's not go there".

It was the first in a series of speeches by senior ministers that the British government hopes will show unity and energy around Brexit after months of prevarication and mixed messages.

But Johnson's speech highlighted divisions within the Conservative government over what kind of relationship Britain wants with the EU after it leaves the bloc in March 2019.

Some ministers, including Treasury chief Philip Hammond, want to stay as close as possible to the bloc's borderless single market and tariff-free customs union. Others, including Johnson, want a definitive break so Britain can pursue a distinct economic policy and new trade deals.

With just over a year until Britain leaves the EU, the two factions are still fighting for supremacy in the UK government.

Johnson is among favorites to replace Prime Minister Theresa May as Conservative leader. But his prominent role in the anti-EU campaign - and an earlier role as a Brussels-based journalist writing sometimes fanciful stories about the bloc's bureaucracy - has made him unpopular with pro-EU politicians and voters.

UK POOL

London - 14 February 2018

1. UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson preparing to deliver speech

2. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"It's not good enough for us now to say to Remainers 'you lost, get over it' because we must accept that the vast majority are actuated by entirely noble sentiments, a real sense of solidarity with our European neighbours and a desire for the UK to succeed. All I am saying is that by going for Brexit we can gratify those sentiments and more."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"More people voted for Brexit than have ever voted for anything in the history of this country, and I just say in all candour if there were be a second vote I really think it would be another year of turmoil and wrangling and feuding, in which the whole country would be the loser. So let's not go there. Let's instead unite about what we all believe in; an outward-looking, liberal, global future for a confident United Kingdom because so much of this is about confidence and self-belief. We love to run ourselves down, In fact, we're Olympic gold medal winners in the national sport in the sport of national self-deprecation, and in the current bout of 'Brexchosis' we are missing the truth that it is our collective job to ensure that when the history books come to be written Brexit will be seen as just the latest way in which the British bucked the trend, took the initiative and did something that responds to the real needs and opportunities that we face in the world today."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"It's not about shutting ourselves off. It's about going global. It's not about returning to some autarchic, 1950s menu of spam and cabbage and liver, it's about continuing the astonishing revolution in tastes and styles - in the arts, music, restaurants, sports that has taken place in this country in my lifetime - not so much because of EU membership, that would be to commit the fallacy we know in the Foreign Office as post hoc ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this), but as a result of our history and our global links, our openness to people and ideas that has brought three hundred languages onto the streets of London, probably the most diverse capital on earth. In that sense Brexit is about reengaging this country with its global identity and all the energy that can flow from that, and I absolutely refuse to accept the suggestion that it is some un-British spasm of bad manners. It's not some great 'V' sign from the cliffs of Dover, it is the expression of a legitimate and natural desire for self-government of the people, by the people, for the people and that is surely not some reactionary Faragist concept."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"If we get the right deal on aviation and visa-free travel, both of which are in our mutual interest, this expansion of UK tourism will continue - not just beyond the EU but within the EU itself. We will continue to go on cheapo flights to stag parties in ancient cities where we will receive, I am sure, a warm welcome, and meet interesting people, fall in love, struggle amiably to learn the other European languages whose knowledge of which by the way has suffered a paradoxical decline during our membership of the EU. And there is no sensible reason why we should not continue to be able to retire to Spain or indeed anywhere else as we did indeed long before Spain joined what was then called the Common Market. We can continue the whirl of academic exchanges that have been a feature of European cultural life since the Middle Ages and whose speed of cross-pollination has been accelerated by the Internet as well as schemes like Horizon or Erasmus, all of which we can continue to support and whose participating scholars are certainly not confined to the EU."

++BLACK FRAMES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"Our commitment to the defence of Europe is unconditional and immovable. It is made real by the 800 British troops from the 5th Battalion The Rifles I saw recently at Tapa (airbase) in Estonia who have since been relieved by the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh. Already this country is the single biggest spender in the EU both on aid and defence. Although we represent only 13 percent of the EU's population, we contribute 20 percent of defence spending and the RAF 'S giant C17 transport aircraft represent 100 percent of the heavy lift capacity of the whole of Europe, as well as 25 percent of the overseas aid budget. It makes sense for us to continue to be intimately involved in European foreign and security policy, it would be illogical not to discuss such matters as sanctions together, bearing in mind that the UK expertise provides more than half of all EU sanctions listings. We will continue to be European, both practically and psychologically, because our status as one of the great contributors to European culture and civilization and our status as one of the great guarantors of the security of Europe is simply not dependent on the Treaty of Rome as amended at Maastricht or Amsterdam or Lisbon."

7. Johnson leaving

UK Prime Minister Theresa May held a drinks reception at 10 Downing Street on Monday evening in a bid to try and bolster support for her Brexit deal among members of her own Conservative party.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and his predecessor at the Foreign Office, Boris Johnson, were among the guests in attendance.

May has been furiously trying to get the deal through Parliament but had to call off a vote on it last month since she was facing certain defeat. The vote is now expected for next week.

UK POOL

London - 7 January 2019

++NIGHT SHOTS++

1. Iain Duncan Smith, Member of Parliament and former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, arriving

2. UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt arriving ++MUTE FROM SOURCE++

3. Conservative MP Owen Paterson and Democratic Unionist Party MPs Nigel Dodds and Sammy Wilson departing Downing Street

4. Hunt departing Downing Street

5. UK Secretary of State for Housing James Brokenshire departing

6. Various of Duncan Smith departing via front gates, UPSOUND (English): "We are all talking about it at the moment, so it hasn't been presented, we don't know what has been produced in terms of any extra arrangements from the EU, so we'll wait and see."

7. MP James Cleverly, who is also Deputy Chairman of the Conservative party, arriving at Downing Street via front gates, UPSOUND (English) Reporter, off-camera: "Does the Prime Minister have your support?" Cleverly: "Yeah, absolutely, absolutely."

8. Minister of State Rory Stewart arriving at Downing Street via front gates, UPSOUND (English) Reporter, off-camera: "What does the prime minister have to do to get your backing this evening then?"; Stewart: "I support the Prime Minister very, very strongly, so she doesn't need to do anything to get my backing"; Reporter, off-camera: "What does she have to do to get the rest of the party on side though?"; Stewart: "I think a lot of the conversation has to be around the Northern Irish backstop."

9. Conservative MP Theresa Villiers departing Downing Street via front gates

10. Dodds departing Downing Street via front gates

11. Paterson departs Downing Street via front gates

12. Conservative MP Mark Francois departs downing street via front gates, UPSOUND (English): "Wine was nice. I think there are some people wavering, but I think they are probably at Number 10, not on the back benches unfortunately." Reporter: "You think she might back no deal?" Francois: "I hope so, that's the best deal now. No deal, no problem, yeah absolutely." Reporter: "And you think the Prime Minister might back no deal?" Francois: "I think if... when the vote goes down I think that is the obvious choice."

13. Conservative MP and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson departs Downing Street via front gates

14. Various of Johnson walking surrounded by media, UPSOUND (English): "I'm afraid you misunderstood the purpose of the evening. It was not to... there wasn't even a speech, there were no speeches, there was no discussion of any kind, there was no attempt to persuade anybody. And I don't really think that things have really changed." Reporter: "Were there cheese and onion crisps?" Johnson: "There were no cheese and onion crisps. And indeed I make one confident prediction: under any circumstances, this country will be amply provided for not only with Mars bars, not only with drinking water, but also with cheese and onion crisps."

15. Johnson enters building

Britain's Foreign Secretary stressed on Thursday that the UK must be prepared for "every possible eventuality" in the Brexit talks, including walking away without any deals.

At a joint news conference with his Mexican counterpart in London, Boris Johnson said that UK must be prepared to walk away from the negotiations, if necessary.

Luis Videgaray, Mexico's Foreign Minister, referred that the two countries are at similar junctures as Mexico is also in the middle of talks to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

"If for whatever reason, NAFTA is not going to continue, it's not the end of the world. Mexico is stronger and bigger than NAFTA," Videgaray said, adding "the UK is a lot stronger and bigger than Brexit. And no matter what happens, if it's a soft Brexit or a hard Brexit, or whatever you guys want to do, the UK is going to be just fine," Videgaray said.

POOL

London - 19 October 2017

1. UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray walking into room, UPSOUND (English) Boris Johnson "Good afternoon, everybody"

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"(I would like to ) renew the condolences of the British people to the people of Mexico following the tragic earthquakes that you experienced in September. And I'm told by our ambassador Duncan Taylor that the people of Mexico really pulled together during that tragic episode with the Blitz spirit from those all who survived. And our thoughts certainly those who have suffered."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Luis Videgaray, Mexico's Foreign Minister:

"We are, in a way, at similar junctures. Mexico is undergoing a significant renegotiation of our main trade agreement, which is the North American Free Trade agreement. And we're working (inaudible) and we want to do a good deal, for both, for Canada, for the US and of course, for Mexico. But we have to prepare for what's next. And we acknowledge that, if for whatever reason, NAFTA is not going to continue, it's not the end of the world. Mexico is stronger and bigger than NAFTA. And we're going to move on. And here in London, as you say, that the UK is a lot stronger and bigger than Brexit. And no matter what happens, if it's a soft Brexit or a hard Brexit, or whatever you guys want to do, the UK is going to be just fine."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

(Reporter: "And you are the leader of Leave, effectively- leave means leave. And getting back at WTA rules, making clear now that actually no deal would be better than a bad deal?)

"Well, we are saying to our friends and partners that now's the time to get on and do a great deal. And it's there to be done. We've set out a good offer on citizenship, on money, all the things Prime Minister (Theresa May) is talking about today. Maybe we won't get the breakthrough today, but we hope very much so. In the next few weeks and months to get this thing moving and get a great deal, but obviously you have to prepare for every eventuality. And what I find so encouraging to hear from Luis Videgaray, who makes the point that actually, it's his view that Mexico can cope and the UK can cope. And we certainly will - more than cope."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

++STARTS ON WIDE++

"Well, there's little to add to that, obviously, I think that we will get a deal, and I think it would be a great deal and a great Brexit. But in any negotiation, you've got to be prepared to walk away and we are going to be prepared to do that. And as Luis said, I think we will do fine, but we will also be able to develop our relationship with Mexico, and that's very exciting as well."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"(We are) prepared for every possible eventuality. Thank you."

++ENDS ON NEWS CONFERENCE++

Britain wants a strong relationship with the European Union (EU) despite voting to leave the bloc, according to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Friday.

In his first major policy address, Johnson said the Brexit decision was a test of the country's "mettle."

In a speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, he also said the West must remain tough with Russia, and called for a political resolution to the Syrian conflict without Bashar al-Assad.

Johnson said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump "has a point" about members making a greater contribution to the cost of their defense, but insists Britain's attachment to the alliance is unbreakable.

UK POOL

London - 2 December 2016

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK+++

1. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary:

"The Brexit decision needs to be seen as something that is putting us on our mettle, encouraging us to be more outward looking, more engaged with the world than ever before."

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary:

"We want a strong EU and want a strong relationship between a strong UK and a strong EU. It is no part of our agenda to seek to undermine or to be dog-in-the-mangerish about the EU and there is a conversation going on now about the EU's desire to build a common security and defence policy, new architecture for that. You know, if they want to do that, fine. Obviously they should also spend two percent of their GDP on defence - might be the first thing to get right. But we are not there to block or to impede further steps towards EU integration if that is what they so desire. We are there to support and to build a strong thick relationship."

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary:

"I think you have got to be strong (with Russia), and you have got to be firm, and I think the people will push and push until they meet a push back. And so when it comes to sanctions or whatever, you've got to remain absolutely solid in what you're doing and you've got to stick up for what you believe in. Not be afraid to say so."

4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary:

"But what I also said at that breakfast and I think I see some veterans of that occasions here, maybe they decided to give it a miss. I do see some veterans, I see some veterans of that occasion. They will recall that what I said was: important though EU migration had been, we had to have control. I hear them say 'exactly', I'm delighted. And I thereby declare that ludicrous story convincingly refuted and I hope we can therefore move on."

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary:

"There are millions of people in that country who in our view will not accept rule by him again. And I think that the answer has got to be a political answer whereby we move away from Bashar al-Assad's rule. We find another way forward and a future for Syria that retains, as I say, a united country, and with the best will in the world, Rageh I can't see that happening under Assad."

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary:

"President-elect Donald Trump has a point. It cannot be justified that one NATO ally, America, accounts for about 70 percent of the alliance's defence spending while the other 27 countries manage only 30 percent between them. I want every NATO member to agree to meet the agreed target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defence and twenty percent of their defence budget on new equipment."

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary:

"Russia could win the acclaim of the world by halting its bombing campaign of Syria, delivering Assad to peace talks, abiding by the letter of the Minsk Agreements in Ukraine. I know that neither the Prime Minister Theresa May nor I will relent in our pressure or in delivering those messages face to face."

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says a general election would be "political suicide" for the Conservatives.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Hunt said that trying to leave the European Union without a deal would lead Parliament to trigger a national election that would be "absolutely catastrophic" for the Conservatives.

He said the party would get "annihilated" as it failed to deliver Brexit.

The race to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May is becoming a battle over whether Britain should leave the bloc without a divorce agreement - or whether that would cause economic and political mayhem.

Hunt said he believes a deal can be negotiated by looking for "solutions that change the backstop."

"In its current form it's not acceptable to the UK Parliament, but offer alternative ways of giving reassurance on the Irish border, I think in the end there is a deal to be done," Hunt said.

May's Conservatives are reeling after the upstart Brexit Party won Britain's election for European Parliament seats.

The Conservatives came a humiliating fifth.

That led some Conservatives, including leadership contenders Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, to argue that the UK must leave the EU as scheduled on October 31, even if it hasn't approved a withdrawal deal.

Others say crashing out of the bloc would be reckless.

POOL

London – 28 May 2019

++STARTS ON SOUNDBITE++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary:

"I think if we go headlong for no deal the most likely outcome will be a general election and that would be political suicide not just for me but for all of us in the Conservative Party and I think we just need to look at what happened in the European elections and the local elections and see it as a warning as to what would happen if we went back to the electorate in a general election, not having delivered what we promised to do last time."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary:

"There are lots of twists and turns. My priority is to get a deal that is safe, safer for business, safer for the union and allows us to move beyond Brexit. And I think that the risk of going in too hard for no deal is that you'll get a very hard response. The Europeans will say 'fine.' And then I think, as I say, we would trigger a general election one way or another and that would be extremely dangerous for the Conservative Party."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary:

"The one choice I would not make is to have a general election. I think that would be political suicide for the Conservative Party and it would mean that we'd have the most left-wing leader in history in number 10 Downing Street by Christmas."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary:

"I just think we need to be careful about saying that we will definitely leave the EU on a fixed state, deal or no deal because the risk of that is that Parliament would then try and stop a no-deal Brexit which they've already done successfully before. And then you would be pushed into a general election and I think if that happens the Conservative Party would be annihilated because we went into the last election promising to deliver Brexit. We won't have delivered it by this election if it happened."

5.SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary:

"Things have changed. This is a problem for the European Union as much as it is a problem for us. And. I think if you go and in that spirit look for solutions that change the backstop because in its current form it's not acceptable to the UK Parliament, but offer alternative ways of giving reassurance on the Irish border, I think in the end there is a deal to be done. I've been a businessman all my life and I think there is a deal there. But it just depends how we approach it."

6 . UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid approaching reporter

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sajid Javid, UK Home Secretary:

"Good morning. If I may just say at the start here Theresa May has decided to step down. She has an incredible sense of public duty, but I do understand why she's done that. I have put my name forward as the next leader of the Conservative Party and to be prime minister. I think what we need in this country now is to rebuild trust to promote much more unity and to create a lot more opportunities particularly for younger people. And I believe I'm in a very good position to do that."

8. Javid approaching his car and getting in

9. Continuous shot of UK Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt leaving her home, UPSOUND (English) reporter asking if she'll be running in the Conservative leadership contest; UPSOUND (English) Penny Mordaunt, UK Defence Secretary: " I am just getting on with my job today. Thanks."  Mordaunt getting into car

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Thursday that the US recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at this moment in time was "not helpful."

He did add that "It's something that we (the UK) want to do. But it it cannot be done until you have progress towards a two-state solution."

Johnson also said that despite leaving the EU, Britain aims to intensify trade links but would like to "get going" on the second round of Brexit talks

Johnson was delivering a speech at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.

POOL

London - 7th December, 2017

1. Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary, walks into briefing room

2. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

++STARTS ON A ZOOM++

(On Donald Trump's Jerusalem decision) "We in the UK are sticking very much with our plan and with our policy which is that, we think that the future of Jerusalem must be settled as part of the negotiated agreement between Israel and the Palestinians and as part of the two-state solution that we're all working for. And I have to say that I view premature recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moves of embassies 'not helpful' in this context. It's something that we want to do. But it it cannot be done until you have progress towards a two-state solution."

3. Cutaway of Johnson speaking

4. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

(On Brexit) "What we want to achieve is a new relationship a deep and special partnership in which we can intensify our trade links, continue to work together on foreign policy on security and all things that matter to us. But to achieve all that we need to get going franchement (frankly) with the second half of the talks. That's the exciting bit. That's the bit where we will achieve a new trading relationship with our friends and partners. We can get it done. We just need to get on with. And I hope very much that the December European Council will mark that progress."

5. Cutaway of Johnson speaking to reporters

6. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

(Answering a question on Brexit "divorce bill" cost) "You know, it is very very important that whatever happens now whatever we agree has got to be consistent with taking back control of our laws of our borders and our cash. And on the subject of cash, I'm often teased or abused for saying or allegedly saying that I said people could 'go whistle' for certain sums and I don't want to bring this up again, but I have just brought this up again. I was asked my reaction to some of the very extortionate sums that I had heard in the region of 80 or 100 billion pounds (107-133 billion US dollars) and I don't want to repeat the offending phrase but 'go whistle' seems to me to be an appropriate reaction to that kind of money."

7. Johnson leaving podium

Boris Johnson warned UK Prime Minister Theresa May of making a deal with the Labour Party on Brexit, saying that the opposition would try to trap Theresa May in a "toxic" deal.

"Corbyn's proposal would keep us locked in the Customs Union, locked in much of the single market forever", added Johnson.

The former UK Foreign Secretary was speaking at the Henry Jackson Society in London on Monday, where he joined Conservative MP Bob Seely to launch the Global Britain report, which includes a foreword by Johnson.

UK POOL

London - 11 February 2019

1. Wide of Boris Johnson, former UK Foreign Secretary, waiting for journalist's question and standing next to Tory MP Bob Seely

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, Former UK Foreign Secretary:

"I don't think that there is any mileage for the Prime Minister or for the government, in trying to do a deal here with Labour because they will just try to trap Theresa May. They will just try and do a deal that is toxic and that has disastrous effects on the Conservative Party, and worse still, of course, (Jeremy) Corbyn's proposal would keep us locked in the Customs Union, locked in much of the single market forever, and therefore Brexit, the promise that was made to the British people, of coming out of the EU institutions, would be broken. If we are going to stay in the customs union, and the single market and you have people round the table in Brussels, there is a name for that, isn't there? It's called 'being in the EU'. So if Corbyn wants to do that, I think that isn't the way forward. On your point about the deadline, and could we have a time-limit - I think it must be pretty obvious that if you are going to have a time-limit to the backstop, and I think that would be a very good thing, it's got to fall before the next election. There is no point in having a time-limit to the backstop, some years after the next general election. And as I say, there has got to be a way that the UK can come out unilaterally."

3. Johnson finishing answer

The German Foreign Minister on Tuesday warned there was a risk that the humanitarian situation in Syria could be getting "more difficult" in the coming days and weeks.

Speaking in London, Frank-Walter Steinmeier also said that he respected but deeply regretted the result of the UK referendum on EU membership.

Steinmeier said "we are losing more than just a member" and added he had little sympathy for the way the exit had been "publicly advertised" during the campaign.

London - 19 July 2016

++STARTS ON SOUNDBITE++

1. SOUNDBITE (German) Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Foreign Minister:

"You know that after five years of civil war in Syria, we started a process last November in an international alliance in which we try to defuse and find a solution for this civil war - after five years, there are 300,000 deaths and 11 to 12 million people who lost their home. Since the meeting in early February in Munich, there has been progress: a ceasefire has been agreed and for a significant period of time has been respected in large parts of the country - not consistently and time and again fragile - but at least enough to protect people temporarily from daily bombardments and to create a respite from the fighting. It was also possible in the past weeks to gain access to all of the cut-off cities and communities to help with humanitarian aid, but of course in particular with regard to the current situation and the pictures reaching us from Aleppo, we know that we are not just far away from a political solution, but also that the humanitarian situation may become more difficult in the coming days and weeks."

2. Exterior of UK Foreign Office

3. SOUNDBITE (German) Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Foreign Minister:

"We are of course very interested to hear from our US colleagues how the most recent talks between the US and Russia have concluded in Moscow, what we can expect from it and whether a re-opening of political talks in Geneva has become more of a possibility."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

4. SOUNDBITE (German) Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Foreign Minister:

"Well, as you can see, (we are in) London and nevertheless it is not about Brexit today. This is a topic which will keep us occupied for a long time and which will cause quite a headache in Europe and in negotiations between the European Union and Great Britain. However, it is also important that we not solely focus on this one issue that has caused so much worry in Europe. There are also crises and conflicts outside of Europe that still require a solution."

5. Sign (English) reading "Foreign & Commonwealth Office"

6. SOUNDBITE (German) Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Foreign Minister: ++ENDS WITH STEINMEIER LEAVING++

"I belong to that group of people who have very much regretted that the UK referendum turned out the way it did. I would have very much liked that the UK had stayed part of the Europrean Union. I keep repeating this over and over again in my speeches back in Germany that we are losing more than a member state, which is why I found it, as you might understand, incomprehensible that an exit out of the European Union was promoted so publicly here in the UK. The decision has been made and we, of course, respect the choice the great majority of the British public has made. Boris Johnson is now Foreign Secretary and we will continue to be members of the United Nations, we will see each other at the G7 and G20 summits as well as the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) and we have to look after issues such as Syria, which is why we will develop a professional working relationship."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday accused the European Union of being "a bit negative" about the Brexit negotiations, adding it was going "to take a little patience" to break the deadlock.

Speaking on the eve of his visit to Berlin for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Johnson also reiterated his calls for the Northern Irish backstop to be removed from the Withdrawal Agreement.

The former Foreign Secretary, who took over as Prime Minister of Great Britain in July, is a staunch Brexiteer and has repeatedly asserted he will take the UK out of the EU in October 31 with or without a divorce deal.

Referring to former Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal which failed to pass through parliament three times, Johnson said it "simply didn't work for the UK."

"We can't have this backstop," he added, saying that under no "circumstances will the UK be putting in any kind of checks at the border in Northern Ireland."

The British government has said that as of Sept. 1 it would stop attending all EU meetings where its vital interests were not at stake.

The EU, which is not known for its speedy diplomacy, took only half a day to rebuff a four-page proposal by Johnson on breaking a deadlock over ensuring a transparent border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The bloc said one key part of the proposal was "incorrect" and another "misleading."

In the diplomatic note from the EU Commission and Council to the EU's remaining 27 nations, which was obtained by The Associated Press, the member states were strongly urged not to give in to Johnson's demand that the legal withdrawal agreement the EU negotiated with his predecessor, Theresa May, be changed at this late stage.

Johnson demanded late Monday that the EU re-open Brexit negotiations, scrapping "anti-democratic" provisions for the Irish border that he said would threaten the peace process in Northern Ireland.

++NO CUTAWAYS AVAILABLE - SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

UK POOL

London - 20 August 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister

"Well don't forget why we're doing all of this. The existing agreement just doesn't work for the UK. And Parliament has thrown it out three times. We can't have this backstop. So I'm going to go to see our friends and partners - I'm going off to Germany and then to France, and then to see the G7 at Biarritz, and I'm going to make the point that the backstop is going to come out."

++BLACK++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister

"And what I've also said is that under no circumstances will the UK be putting in any kind of checks at the border in Northern Ireland. We simply don't think that that is necessary. And it's a bit of a paradox because it is the other side, a bit odd, the other side of the argument, the EU, who seem to think it might be necessary to have checks for them to preserve the integrity of the single market, the EU single market. We don't think that's true."

++BLACK++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister

++TRANSCRIPT TO FOLLOW++

"In the course of the negotiations on the free trade deal which we're going to do after October 31st. We will be looking at all the ways in which we can maintain frictionless trade at the Northern Irish border - whether it's trusted trader schemes, or electronic pre-clearing, or whatever it happens to be, all that kind of thing, checks away from the border, points of sale or whatever if you have to crack down on smuggling, all that kind of thing - but we will come up with those solutions, or agree those solutions I should say, in the context of the free-trade agreement. That's the way we are going to approach it."

++BLACK++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister

"At the moment it is absolutely true that our friends and partners are a bit negative and then I saw what Donald Tusk had to say and it wasn't redolent of a sense of optimism. I think actually we'll get there. There is a real sense now that something needs to be done with this backstop, we can't get it through parliament as it is, so I'm going to go out at it with a lot of oomph as you'd expect and I will be making some progress in the course of the next few weeks."

++BLACK++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister

"Clearly one thing that slightly, I think, complicates the picture is that our EU friends still clearly think that there is a possibility that parliament will block Brexit and as long as they think there's a possibility that parliament will block Brexit, they're unlikely to be minded to make the concessions that we need so it's going to take a bit of patience. Thank you"

British Prime Minister Theresa May was on Monday meeting with her Cabinet to map out a strategy for delivering Brexit as she fights to stay in power.

The session comes after a weekend of speculation that she may be forced to resign to win approval for her twice-rejected Brexit deal.

Lawmakers are preparing to debate proposals for a series of votes on alternatives to May's deal, which could take control of the process away from the government.

Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Monday claimed May had "chickened out" on delivering Brexit this week.

Writing in the Telegraph, he said that to win support for her deal she must show that the next phase of negotiations - on future relations with the European Union - will be different.

UK POOL

London - 25 March 2019

1. UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Amber Rudd arriving for cabinet meeting

2. Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns arriving for cabinet meeting

3. Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Elizabeth Truss, and Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling arriving for cabinet meeting

4. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock arriving for cabinet meeting

5. Leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom arriving for cabinet meeting

6. Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, David Gauke arriving for cabinet meeting

7. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Wright arriving for cabinet meeting

8. Secretary of State for Defence, Gavin Williamson arriving for cabinet meeting

9. Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt arriving for cabinet meeting

10. Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Stephen Barclay arriving for cabinet meeting

11. Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox arriving for cabinet meeting

12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Amber Rudd, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: ++INCLUDES QUESTIONS AND LEAVING SHOT++

"l  just want to urge Iain Duncan Smith and others to help us make sure that we get the withdrawal agreement through this week so that we can end the chaos and try and get back to a stable situation and leave the European Union. I'm going to be backing the withdrawal agreement and working with the prime minister and other ministers to make sure that we do that."

(Reporter: Do you think the Prime Minister should resign to break the Brexit impasse?)

"No. I think the Prime Minister is doing the right thing, thinking about the national interest, about this country and trying to end this chaos by getting this agreement through."

(Reporter: Do you think the MP can build a consensus around any alternatives to the PM's Brexit deal?")

"We'll see what will happen this week in terms of the possibility of additional votes but I'm still committed to trying to work with the Prime Minister to get the withdrawal agreement through. That's the best way to end this chaos. Thank you very much."

UK Conservative leadership candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt faced their final hustings on Wednesday.

Both candidates delivered speeches and answered questions in front of hundreds of Conservatives at a London conference centre.

In an eye-catching move Johnson brandished a kipper on stage, and said the plastic wrapping it was covered in was an example of European Union (EU) rules increasing business costs in the UK.

In an energetic address he pledged to "get Brexit done by October 31."

Pollsters favourite Johnson refused to answer questions on whether he would be willing to suspend parliament in order to push through a no deal Brexit to make the deadline.

His opponent Jeremy Hunt attempted to position himself as the best person to revitalise talks with the EU.

Both candidates said the backdrop, which was included in the withdrawal agreement negotiated by Prime Minister May and aims to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland, was unworkable.

The EU has repeatedly said the agreement is not up for renegotiation.

Hunt also doubled on his criticism of Donald Trump after the U.S. President's said four Democratic congresswomen should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."

" I've got three half Chinese children born on the NHS with British passports," Hunt said.

"It would be totally unacceptable to me or my wife if anyone ever told them to go back to China, and I hope no politician in this country ever would," he said.

May announced her resignation last month after her Brexit deal was rejected by parliament three times.

About 160,000 Conservative members have until Monday to vote by postal ballot.

The winner will be announced Tuesday and will replace May as party leader and prime minister.

UK POOL

London -7 July 2019

1. Wide of UK Conservative party leadership candidate Boris Johnson at podium

2. Various of Johnson waving a fish

3. Photographer

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Conservative party leadership candidate:

++INCLUDES CUTAWAYS++

"I want to tell you all tonight here in this fantastic Excel building the hour's darkest before the dawn. And we're going to turn this thing around. And then come back and we are going to win. And I'll tell you what we are going to do.  And I'll tell you what we are going to do. We are going to do several things. First and most important we need to get Brexit done by October the 31st."

5. Audience applauding

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Conservative party leadership candidate:

++INCLUDES CUTAWAYS++

"The problem with the backstop is as everybody understands it I think now in this country is it poses this appalling dilemma for the UK. You either have  to accept that you remain forever within the EU Customs Union and in regulatory alignment with with Brussels even though you have no say in setting tariffs or in setting regulations, or else you have to accept that if the UK wanted to do things differently we'd have to lose control of Northern Ireland. And I think that's utterly intolerable, we'd see a division between the union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I think that's an utterly intolerable choice.  No democratic country could submit to that kind of choice."

7. UK Conservative party leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt on stage

8. Audience watching speech

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Conservative party leadership candidate and UK foreign secretary:

(Asked if Theresa May's deal was dead) "As it is now yes we have to be. I want to get a deal. And so we have got to make some profound changes to that withdrawal agreement. That doesn't mean ripping up the whole thing. But it does mean that the backstop has to go."

10. Audience applauding

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Conservative party leadership candidate and UK foreign secretary:

"I am the country's diplomat in chief and I have responsibility for our relationship with our most important ally (the US) and that relationship by the way is the foundation of the peace and prosperity that we've had in the world for the last 75 years. And I have to recognise that the words I use needs to be calibrated in a way that doesn't do lasting damage to that relationship. But I think I made my feelings very clear. I think I said in that Sun debate that I've got three half Chinese children born on the NHS (National Health Service) with British passports. I would be utterly appalled, horrified, it would be totally unacceptable to me or my wife if anyone ever told them to go back to China. And I hope no politician in this country ever would."

12. Photographer

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Conservative party leadership candidate and UK foreign secretary:

"If I was going to talk about the austerity cuts that I had to bring in as part of (former UK Prime Minister) David Cameron's cabinet in 2010 I think there were two areas where with the benefit of hindsight, and it's easy to say these things, they went too far, and one of them was police numbers and one of them was the social care system. So how do we solve it? I think we've got to do two things. First of all local councils do need more money to deliver a basic standard of care and social care. And I want a 10 year plan for the social care system just as I delivered a 10 year plan for the NHS. That was actually my next job. But secondly it is also about personal responsibility and we need to encourage more younger people to save for those costs in the very last few months of their lives earlier just as they save for their pensions."    

14. Hunt shaking hands with moderator Iain Dale and waving at crowd

15. Crowd applauding

British Prime Minister Theresa May met with senior ministers on Monday ahead of a meeting of the EU's General Affairs Council to discuss the state of play in Brexit negotiations.

European Union government ministers are meeting to endorse a new set of orders for their Brexit negotiator, focused on ways to ease Britain out of the EU from next year and lay the foundations for their future ties.

The negotiating guidelines set out the terms of a "transition period" that the Europeans want to run from the end of March next year until December 31, 2020.

May faces mounting pressure over Brexit, with some in the Leave camp accusing her of supporting a Brexit "in name only".

UK POOL

London, 29 January 2018

1. British Prime Minister Theresa May arriving at Downing Street

2. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson arriving

3. Home Secretary Amber Rudd arriving

4. Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs arriving

5. Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade, arriving

6. David Davis, Brexit Secretary, arriving

7. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, arriving

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Tuesday warned that Britain must not turn its back on globalisation as it prepares to leave the European Union (EU) .

He told a conference of the British Chambers of Commerce in London that Brexit would allow the UK to become the world's "great free trading nation again."

"We can be ever more internationalist and indeed we can be ever more European, but we can change our relationship with the EU from one of membership to one of friendship and partnership," he said.

Johnson said he saw no reason why a trade deal cannot be struck with the EU within the two-year negotiation process and that good will was building in Brussels, to work towards achieving a "win-win outcome" for everybody.

He told his audience that Britain should have "have every reason as a nation to be confident," as they prepare for Brexit.

"As we set out in this journey that we are positive about he outcome, for the very good reason the outcome will be fantastic for this country," Johnson said, during a question and answer session after his speech.

===========================================================

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

UK POOL

London - 28 February 2017

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"All the economic evidence shows, if we close our markets, if we put up barriers, then we raise the costs for those who can least afford it. We make our industries uncompetitive, we entrench complacency, we discourage investment in capital and technology, we stifle innovation and of course we breed suspicion and mistrust between nations. We should never forget the old truism; that when goods and services no longer cross borders, then troops and tanks do so instead."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"We are determined to bring back that moment and that inspiration, and under this government led by Theresa May, Britain is preparing once again to be the leading campaigner for that liberating and enriching force. And let me be absolutely clear, as I know you will want to ask questions about it afterwards, we can be that great free trading nation again. We can be ever more internationalist and indeed we can be ever more European, but we can change our relationship with the EU from one of membership to one of friendship and partnership, and to use that opportunity to create a regulatory environment that members of the British Chambers of Commerce have been crying out for, for decades that precisely suits the needs of British business and commerce, of people in this room, and to be able for the first time in 44 years, as I say, to fulfil the prime minister's vision and be the world's leading campaigner for free trade."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"Britain is at its best - and all our history teaches us this - Britain is at its best when we are most global in our outlook and in my time as your Foreign Secretary it has been almost overwhelming to discover that we have links and friends around the world that we have built up for centuries and in some ways and in some places that we have almost forgotten, not least in those rapidly growing Commonwealth countries, but also elsewhere. Of course we remain committed to our European markets - perhaps more so than ever - but we need to think globally again. Because a global Britain is a safer Britain and a more successful Britain and above all a more prosperous Britain. The same, in my view, goes for the rest of the world."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"I think there is every reason why we should go at at this full tilt and get it done within two years but let's see how it goes. I think David Davis and DEXEU (the Department for Exiting the EU) are doing a fantastic job. I thi

nk what has changed since the Lancaster House speech on January 17th, when the Prime Minister set out her vision of how all this was going to work, is that our friends and partners understand much more clearly what we want to achieve. They can see much more clearly how it could be made to work in their interests and why, actually, a win-win outcome is the best thing for everybody. I am not saying that there won't be some bumps in the road and I am not saying that from time to time some plaster won't come off the ceiling but there's a lot of goodwill and that goodwill is building rather than diminishing."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"I think we have every reason as a nation to be confident. Many of you were wise enough not to believe those pre-referendum forecasts of economic calamity. And since June the 23rd the sky has obstinantly failed to fall in. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) predicts we will have the fastest growing economy for 2016. We have the fastest G7 economy - well we did until last year when they slightly changed the figures, rather like the Oscar ceremony - Germany seems to have scooped it for the time-being but we are right up there, we are right up there and the investment continues to flood in."

++BLACK FRAMES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"I think it's very important, Anushka (referring to Guardian journalist Anushka Asthana, who asked question), that as we set out in this journey that we are positive about he outcome, for the very good reason that I think the outcome will be fantastic for this country. And as the prime minister has said - perhaps you have forgotten - 'Brexit means Brexit and we are going to make a success of it' and that is the spirit in which we are approaching it."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

Britain's former foreign secretary Boris Johnson on Wednesday urged lawmakers to retain "No Deal" as a Brexit option, insisting the European Union will make last-minute concessions to the UK.

Johnson, a leading supporter of the campaign to take Britain out of the EU, said negotiations in Brussels always went down to the wire.

He said ruling out a no-deal Brexit would be "crazy".

"Why would we shoot ourselves in the foot like that," he asked.

POOL

London - 13 March 2019

++SHOTS 1 AND 2 ARE CONTINUOUS++

1. Former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson leaves building and speaks to reporters.

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, former UK foreign secretary:

"What we need to do now is remember that in EU negotiation, the thing always goes to the wire. It's always in the final furlong that the horses change places in the EU. When they make a concession it will be at the end, and it will be (up) to the leaders, there will be at the leader level. So it's very important that there's a summit next week on March the 21st when I expect the people around the table in Brussels will see that, uh, it's the moment to, uh, to get the, the UK and the EU, uh, out and get the UK out of the EU but on a better footing."

3. Black frame

4.  SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, former UK foreign secretary:

"I hope that Parliament will vote not to take a no deal off the table. It's crazy to disable yourself as you go into a negotiation - it makes no sense at all. Why would we shoot ourselves in the foot like? What you want is to have maximum flexibility and after all it was in the manifesto of the conservative party that we kept no deal as an option. We said that no deal was better than a bad deal, so how can we conceivably take no deal off the table? I certainly won't vote for it and I'll be amazed if the Prime Minister votes for it, I can't see the logic in that at all."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

The foreign and defence ministers of Great Britain and Poland met in London today to discuss, among other things, the rights of Polish citizens currently living in the UK.

Addressing the press, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said that the rights of Polish, and EU, citizens would be "protected and enshrined in UK law".

Johnson also added that it was now the time for "friends and partners in Brussels" to make progress on Brexit talks and "get on with it".

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon refused to comment on an alleged drone strike which reportedly killed a British Islamic State group recruiter on Thursday.

He did add, however, that anyone who chooses to fight for the militant group is making themselves "a legitimate target" and risks "being on the wrong end of an RAF (Royal Air Force) or United States missile".

UK POOL

London - 12 October 2017

1. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowksi, British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz walk in (in that order) and take their place at lecterns

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary:

"I just really want to repeat the assurances that I gave just now which the Prime Minister has given, I think that the offer that we have made is one that we think has given some momentum to the talks going on in Brussels. And, you know, I just wanted to reconfirm what we have said. The rights of all EU citizens here in this country, of course including the one million Poles, will be protected and enshrined in UK law. And I think it's very important to understand that our courts, which are very fair and indeed very progressive when it comes to questions about family reunion and other such matters, they will have regard not only to the treaty of withdrawal or whatever it is going to be, but of course they will also have regard specifically to the jurisprudence of the of the European Court of Justice which is itself a fairly progressive body of jurisprudence as you all know."

3. Wide of news conference as journalist asks questions

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary:

"Just to extract some of the urgency from your question and turn it around, if I may, to our friends and partners on the other side of the channel and say well we've made an offer we've set out what we think is some pretty convincing ideas on citizenship, on money. We've made clear our unconditional commitment to the defence and security of our friends and partners in the EU. We've made great progress on rights and privileges and on the Northern Irish border question. Let's now get on with it to the next phase. I think that's what we're saying and so if I'm...respectfully say some of the urgency that you direct at me I would, if I may, radiate it backwards, off, ricochet it if I can to our friends and partners in Brussels."

5. Zoom from wide of news conference to Boris Johnson at lectern

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Fallon, Defence Secretary:

++STARTS ON JOHNSON AND PANS TOWARDS FALLON++

"On the drone strike, I'm not going to comment on the specific strike reported today. However, I can confirm that if you are a British national in Iraq or Syria and if you have chosen to fight for Daesh (Islamic State group), an illegal organisation that is preparing and inspiring terror attacks on our streets, then you've made yourself a legitimate target. And you run the risk every hour of every day of being on the wrong end of an RAF (Royal Air Force) or United States missile."

7. News conference finishing with minister leaving

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence strolled into the Brexit fury as he met with embattled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Wrapping up a week in Europe, Pence thanked Johnson for the welcome "at a very busy time here in the United Kingdom."

Johnson downplayed the Brexit drama, saying it's "always busy."

Pence delivered greetings from President Donald Trump and said Trump has asked him to assure Johnson that the U.S. "supports the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union" and "is ready, willing and able to immediately negotiate a free trade agreement with the UK"

Johnson replied that was "fantastic."

He expressed hope for the removal of trade barriers on British products including lamb, beef and haggis, a Scottish delicacy made with the stomachs of sheep.

Johnson has been pushing for an early election as a way to break Britain's Brexit impasse, as lawmakers try to stop the UK from leaving the European Union next month without an exit deal in place.

AGENCY POOL

London - 5 September 2019

++QUALITY AS INCOMING++

1. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence walking into room UPSOUND (English) Johnson: "Vice President, have a seat. Thank you so much. Well it's fantastic to welcome you to No. 10 Mr Vice President, great to have you here. I had an absolutely wonderful time at the G7 and with President Trump talking about all the things that we were trying to do together, free trade, all that. And hope very much to take that forward today in our discussions.

Pence: Well Mr Prime Minister thank you for such a warm welcome.

Johnson: Absolutely, great to see you again.

Pence: I know it's a very busy time here in the United Kingdom.

Johnson: Always busy.

Pence: I'm grateful for your hospitality. I spoke to President Trump this morning, your friend and he asked me to send you his very best greetings and to assure you that the United States supports the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union, but he also wanted me to convey that the United States is ready, willing and able to immediately negotiate a free trade agreement with the UK.

Johnson: Fantastic.

Pence: The President often says that the United States has the biggest economy in the world and we truly believe that a free trade agreement between the United States and the UK could increase trade between our countries by three or four times. We're anxious to do that. We're anxious to stand with you and to do everything in our power to strengthen what has been a historic and special relationship between the United States of America and the United Kingdom. And it is embodied in the very warm and personal relationship that you have forged with President Trump, with myself and with our administration and I'm truly honoured to be here.

Johnson: Fantastic to have you here and we will drive that free trade agreement forward of course. The U.S. economy is a, is a wonderful, massive opportunity for the UK farmers but it is still the case that you know, the United States of America, the people of the United States of America do not eat any British lamb or beef or haggis from Scotland. I think there are still barriers to trade in shower trays, would you believe it, from the UK. So, and many other products where we think we could free up the U.S. market. I know that you guys are pretty tough negotiators. So. So we're going to work very hard to make sure that that free trade deal is one that works for all sides.

Pence: Well he (Trump) told me this morning, he said, he said, you tell my friend Prime Minister Boris Johnson, that we're ready to go to work on that free trade agreement, just as soon as you're ready. And again to make it clear to you that the United States supports the UK's decision to leave the EU and we're ready to build this economic relationship immediately.

Johnson: Fantastic and of course we won't be, ah, and we will be, make sure that we do everything to increase free trade but the National Health Service, is always worth saying for the benefit of the UK media here, the National Health Service is not on the table as far as negotiations go. And nor, we're not too keen on that chlorinated chicken either. We have a, we have a gigantic chlorinated chicken of our own here on the opposition benches. Anyway, I'm being asked to shut up. Thank you all very much for coming along today.

Pence: Thank you.

Johnson: Thank you."

++ENDS ON UPSOUND++