UK PM contender Hunt urges rival Johnson to ‘be straight with people’ over no-deal Brexit

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, in his reply to Boris Johnson's letter, has urged the latter to come straight with the people about what a no-deal Brexit would mean.

In a letter to his rival, Hunt wrote that according to him the biggest risk to Brexit is a general election and a Jeremy Corbyn government before it is delivered. Questioning Johnson's suggestion that a free trade agreement negotiation could be done during an implementation period, Hunt said it was a fact that without a deal, there would be no implementation period.

"We must be careful to face the facts as we find them. Will you be straight with people that no deal means no implementation period?" he asked.

Earlier, Johnson claimed that the UK will leave the European Union (EU) on October 31, 'do or die', with or without a deal. Referring to Johnson's statement that the odds of a no-deal are a million to one, Hunt said that he thinks this statement 'flies in the face of reality'.

Hunt said that he believed with the right approach, there is a deal to be done. "But we must level with people and acknowledge that this will be tough and complex....but we need credible, detailed plans to make that happen," Hunt added in the letter.

Dear Boris... pic.twitter.com/EkhILQtOaY

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) June 27, 2019

The foreign secretary also maintained that it was vital that he and Johnson conduct head-to-head debates since Johnson has got 'some important facts wrong'.

UK Conservative Party members will vote for either Hunt or Johnson to replace May. The winner will be announced July 23.