Boris Johnson calls on PM to chase EU legislative 'brake'

David Cameron should aim to give the British parliament the ability to reject and overturn European Union (EU) legislation as part of his renegotiations with Brussels, Boris Johnson has suggested.

The Prime Minister touched on the issue of sovereignty during his speech on Europe last week as he set out the changes he wants to secure ahead of a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU which is set to take place before the end of 2017.

But the Mayor of London has told the Sunday Times he wants the PM to work towards giving a legislative "brake" to lawmakers in the UK which would only ever be used "very, very sparingly".

Mr Johnson said such a move would be an "absolute game-changer".

He told the Sunday Times: "You could amend the act which says that all EU directives, regulations and other obligations have supremacy over British law to say that it has supremacy unless expressly overturned by parliament.

"The great thing, which makes it so attractive, is that you don't need a negotiation. You don't need Angela Merkel's permission at all.

"All you need is to get it through the House of Commons. It could be done by us alone. I hope that will be the end product of what the Prime Minister is alluding to in his excellent speech."

Mr Johnson admitted such a move would make Brussels "go ape".