Boris Johnson likens himself to Incredible Hulk as he pledges to ignore no-deal Brexit law

Boris Johnson likened himself to the Incredible Hulk as he promised to ignore the Commons legislation ordering him to delay Brexit if negotiations break down.

“The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets,” the prime minister told The Mail on Sunday as he insisted the UK would emulate Bruce Banner’s green alter ego by breaking free of the “manacles” of the European Union (EU).

“Banner might be bound in manacles, but when provoked he would explode out of them,” he said. “Hulk always escaped, no matter how tightly bound in he seemed to be – and that is the case for this country. We will come out on October 31 and we will get it done.”

His assertion that he will ignore parliament’s legislation comes just days after outgoing Commons speaker John Bercow suggested disobeying the law would make him no better than a bank robber, and must be a “non-starter” for the prime minister.

“One should no more refuse to request an extension of Article 50, because of what one might regard as the noble end of departing from the EU as soon as possible, than one could possibly excuse robbing a bank on the basis that the cash stolen would be donated to a charitable cause immediately afterwards,” Mr Bercow said.

Mr Johnson will attend a meeting with the EU Commission’s outgoing president Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg on Monday.

Accompanied by Brexit secretary Steve Barclay and policy adviser David Frost, he will also meet the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier as he looks to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement brokered by predecessor Theresa May.

Sources in Downing Street have nonetheless suggested there will be no “big breakthrough” moment.

Asked about the talks, Mr Johnson said: “I will be talking to Jean-Claude about how we’re going to do it. I’m very confident. When I got this job everybody was saying there can be absolutely no change to the withdrawal agreement, the backstop was immutable, the arrangements by which the UK was kept locked in to the EU forever, they said no one could change that.

“They have already moved off that and, as you know, there’s a very, very good conversation going on about how to address the issues of the Northern Irish border. A huge amount of progress is being made.”

Mr Johnson has been buoyed by assertions from French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel that they will consider alternatives to the maligned Irish backstop if he is able to produce them.

However, there has been little support for a new plan through official channels – with the EU commission stating earlier this month that the backstop “is the only solution identified that safeguards the Good Friday Agreement, ensures compliance with international law obligations and preserves the integrity of the internal [single] market”.

Mr Johnson’s comments come as the prime minister aims to focus on his domestic agenda – including the introduction of tougher sentences for child killers – once parliament resumes.

Mr Johnson will reportedly use the Queen’s speech next month to announce murderers of pre-school children would be subject to whole-life orders, while the minimum tariffs for other types of killings could be increased.

A government source told The Sunday Telegraph: “Most people think all parties and the courts have lost the plot on sentencing. We agree with the public. We will act as quickly and aggressively as we can, given parliament does not want to do what the people want on crime, just as it doesn’t on Brexit.”