Imposing martial law in a no-deal Brexit is ‘on the statute book’, says Matt Hancock

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said imposing martial law in the event of a no-deal Brexit was "on the statute book" and that the government was looking at "all possibilities".

The UK is on the brink of declaring a state of emergency in case disorder breaks out if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March, the Sunday Times reported.

The Prime Minister could cancel parliament's recess in February and force MPs to work longer hours to bide more time to pass the necessary legislation that would allow the UK to leave the EU on 29 March, the scheduled date for the the country's exit.

Hancock told the BBC that while imposing martial law was not the "focus of our attention" the government was "looking at all options".

A Downing Street spokesperson said: "Respecting the referendum decision means leaving the EU. The PM has said that there will be disruption in the event of no deal, but as a responsible government we are taking the appropriate steps to minimise this disruption and ensure the country is prepared.”

Meanwhile, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney said the EU would not renegotiate the Irish backstop, the main hurdle Theresa May has struggled to climb in her bid to get her deal through parliament.

Coveney said: "We have already agreed to compromises. The backstop is part of a balanced package that isn’t going to change."

Following the historic defeat of May's deal in parliament the Prime Minister set out her "Plan B" in which she said she would seek changes to the backstop to persuade MPs to back her deal.

Coveney's stance on the backstop was immediately refuted by Hancock, who said Ireland's apparent refusal to to change the withdrawal agreement was "a negotiating position that the Irish are taking”.