PM says Brexit proposals are a better compromise than to ‘remain a prisoner’

Boris Johnson has told MPs he has made a “genuine attempt to bridge the chasm” with the EU by making compromises to strike a fresh Brexit deal.

The Prime Minister told the Commons on Thursday that his proposals do not deliver all his departure desires but insisted they are better options than to “remain a prisoner” of the current situation.

But he acknowledged in his statement a day after he shared his proposals with Brussels that they are “some way from a resolution”.

Mr Johnson urged MPs to “come together in the national interest behind this new deal”, but first he must get it passed by the EU, with reactions from European leaders so far being cool.

“This Government’s objective has always been to leave with a deal and these constructive and reasonable proposals show our seriousness of purpose,” the PM said.

“They do not deliver everything that we would’ve wished, they do represent a compromise, but to remain a prisoner of existing positions is to become a cause of deadlock rather than breakthrough.

“So we have made a genuine attempt to bridge the chasm, to reconcile the apparently irreconcilable and to go the extra mile as time runs short.”