UK lawmaker Letwin says his amendment designed to block accidental no-deal

British Lawmaker Oliver Letwin said on Friday he wanted to make sure Britain did not leave the European Union without a Brexit deal by mistake, explaining a proposal that could prevent a vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal on Saturday.

Letwin has proposed that the approval of the deal is deferred until separate legislation to implement the terms of the deal has passed through parliament.

"My aim is to ensure that Boris's deal succeeds, but that we have an insurance policy which prevents the UK from crashing out on 31 October by mistake if something goes wrong during the passage of the implementing legislation," Letwin said in an explanatory note sent to reporters.