UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned Conservative members of parliament that they will be expelled from the party if they back new legislation this week designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit, as ministers threaten to ignore any law passed by the House of Commons.
Opposition parties on Tuesday plan to bring forward new legislation designed to force Johnson to ask the European Union for a new delay to Brexit before October 31, if he has failed to agree a new deal with European leaders.
Conservative whips told their MPs they will be removed from the parliamentary party and automatically deselected as candidates in an upcoming general election, if they rebel against the government this week.
"The whips are telling Conservative MPs today a very simple message — if they fail to vote with the government on Tuesday they will be destroying the government's negotiating position and handing control of parliament to Jeremy Corbyn," a source in the whips office told the Times.
"Any Conservative MP who does this will have the whip withdrawn and will not stand as a Conservative candidate in an election."
At the same time, senior Cabinet ministers signaled that the government would break the law and ignore any legislation passed by the opposition which is designed to delay Brexit.