LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent an unsigned letter to the European Union requesting a delay to Britain’s exit from the bloc and also said he did not want the extension after his latest Brexit setback in parliament on Saturday.

Johnson had previously said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than ask for an extension to the Oct. 31 deadline.

But he was compelled, by a law passed last month by opponents, to send a letter to the bloc asking to push back the deadline to Jan. 31 after lawmakers thwarted his attempt to pass his EU divorce deal on Saturday.

(Agencies)