[Published: Wednesday January 23 2019]
 Brexit delay 'most likely', says former chancellor
LONDON 23 Jan (ANA) - Former Chancellor George Osborne has said delaying the UK's exit from the EU is now the "most likely" option.
The UK has to choose between no deal - which he compared to Russian roulette - or no Brexit for now, he told the BBC.
But Theresa May says the best option is to approve her withdrawal agreement, which MPs rejected last week.
And International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told the BBC that if MPs blocked Brexit it could have "calamitous" and "unforeseen consequences".
Under current law, the UK will exit the EU on 29 March, whether or not a deal has been struck. The decision to leave was taken by 52% to 48% in a referendum in June 2016. Mr Osborne, now a newspaper editor, was chancellor and a key Remain campaigner at the time.
Speaking to BBC business editor Simon Jack in Davos, Mr Osborne said that the prospect of no deal meant "the gun is held to the British economy's head".
"Russian roulette is a game which you should never play because there's a one-in-six chance that the bullet goes into your head," he said.
Mr Osborne, who was sacked by Mrs May when she became prime minister after the referendum, said his successor Philip Hammond had "sensibly" told businesses that leaving without a deal was not a possibility.
"But we now need to hear it from the British prime minister," he said.
Mr Osborne said that although there might be a majority in Parliament to prevent no deal, it was not clear how MPs would achieve it.(ANA)
FA/ANA/23 January 2019--------
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