UK opposition leader says will push for general election rather than referendum

Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Sunday he would prefer a national election to a second referendum on Brexit.

The Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool is due to debate the idea of supporting a second referendum and Corbyn said he would be bound by what members decided.

"Our preference would be for a general election and we can then negotiate our future relationship with Europe but let's see what comes out of conference," he told BBC TV.

Corbyn said that if Labour was negotiating with Brussels it would seek a trade agreement with a customs union with the EU so there did not need to be a hard border on the island of Ireland, one of the main remaining sticking points in Brexit talks.