Britain “may well” leave the EU without a deal, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told Sky News.
He insisted “we’ve got to get Brexit done” on 31 October, repeating the Conservatives’ key message at the start of their party conference in Manchester.
The cabinet minister admitted changing his mind on the scenario, having previously said when he was running for the Tory leadership that it was “not a policy option available to the next prime minister”.
Opposition MPs are sitting in parliament during the Conservative Party conference after the Supreme Court ruled its suspension was unlawful.
The SNP’s Drew Hendry told Sky News on Saturday that “the time is fast coming” for opposition MPs to try to oust Mr Johnson in a no-confidence vote.
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Government whips are on alert for any fast manoeuvres from Labour trying to take advantage of the Conservatives being hundreds of miles away at their annual gathering of party faithful.
“Let’s get Brexit done,” is the tagline of this year’s event and it was a message Mr Hancock was keen to repeat.
“I think that the best way to leave is with a deal, absolutely, I’ve always thought that but we’ve got to get Brexit done so that we can get on to delivering on all the other things,” he told Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
Mr Hancock also admitted a pledge to build 40 new hospitals only included immediate funding for six, with an additional £100m to cover the rest’s proposals.
:: Listen to Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
“The rest of the money will come in the future,” he said.
Labour’s shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth hit back, saying: “Yet again a Boris Johnson health announcement has quickly unravelled as spin.
“Is it really too much to ask Boris Johnson to simply tell the truth for a change?”
