1. Senior No 10 source still claims they can avoid delay - source tells me ’The government will comply with the Benn Act, which only imposes a very specific narrow duty concerning Parliament’s letter requesting a delay' ...
2. Senior No 10 source on Benn Act cont 'drafted by an unknown subset of MPs + pro-EU campaigners) +which can be interpreted in different ways, but the govt is not prevented by Act from doing other things that cause no delay including other communications, private and public.'
3. 'People will have to wait to see how this is reconciled. The Government is making its true position on delay known privately in Europe and this will become public soon.’... the quest to hunt the 'other things' that govt will try to avoid the delay continues
4. As ever-politics will matter as well as the law - Johnson sends the letter to comply with the law but says publicly and privately he has no intention of any further negotiation what does the EU and Parliament do? View in govt now there's only tiny chance of deal by mid Oct
5. If Johnson fails to avoid delay he'll want to have been publicly dragged kicking and screaming into, to blame everyone else but his administration for breaking the promise he made
6. But it is (no surprise) a deeply provocative strategy - we're all in unknown territory here, no real precedents to guide any of this
