Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave his first public reaction Thursday after his Brexit plans were derailed with a triple defeat in Britain's House of Commons.
Speaking at a police cadet training center in Yorkshire, Johnson said; "I'd rather be dead in a ditch than ask the European Union for an extension."
He was referring to a bill raced through the House of Commons which will force the prime minister to go to a meeting of the EU Council on Oct. 17 to ask for Britain's exit from the bloc to be delayed if no deal is agreed.
The so-called no-deal bill will prevent Johnson for carrying out his promise to take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal on Oct. 31.
Johnson said: "The bill passed yesterday will make it harder for to get a Brexit deal. Under this plan, Brussels would decide how long the UK stayed in the EU. I cannot see how that is democratic."
As he spoke, the Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg announced that the government will on Monday make another attempt to call for an early general election. Johnson confirmed he wants an election on Oct. 15.
MPs in the House of Commons voted Wednesday night to oppose Johnson's call for an election in what was the third of three defeats he suffered at Westminster.
Johnson again attacked Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for opposing the call for an election, saying he had been demanding an election for several years.
He said: "I don't want an election at all, but frankly I don't see any other way. The people must choose between sending me or Jeremy Corbyn to the Brussels summit in October."
An election before the summit would give British voters the chance to decide who they wanted to send to the crucial EU Council summit. It would mean the election being decided between leaving or potentially remaining in the EU.
Johnson also faced questions from media at the Yorkshire event about the resignation hour earlier of his brother Jo Johnson as an MP and as a business minister in the government.
One journalist asked him: "If your own brother can't trust you, how can you expect the country to trust you."
Johnson praised his brother and said families often disagreed, adding: "People disagree about the EU, but the way to unite the country is to get this done. The longer this goes on, the more dither and delay, inspired by Jeremy Corbyn, the worse it will be."
He said: "Jo is fantastic guy and was a fantastic minister and he wants the government to sort Brexit out."
