MOSCOW, July 28: Former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond held talks with Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer to discuss moves aimed at preventing new Prime Minister Boris Johnson from agreeing on a no-deal Brexit, local media reported.
The meeting took place shortly after Hammond resigned from the government on Wednesday, The Observer, The Guardian’s sister paper, said on Saturday.
“The political direction of travel under Boris Johnson is clear … and so it is more important than ever that we build a strong cross-party alliance to stop a no-deal Brexit,” Starmer reportedly said.
Johnson, an avid Brexiteer and former UK foreign secretary, took over as prime minister on Wednesday after winning the Conservative leadership vote. He defeated the incumbent foreign minister, Jeremy Hunt, by a two to one margin in the vote of party members after Theresa May announced her resignation two months ago.
In a victory speech on Tuesday, the 55-year-old supporter of the UK withdrawal said his main goals as prime minister would be to deliver Brexit by October 31, unite the Tories, defeat the Labour opposition and “energize” the country.
(agencies)
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