MP asks Polish government to veto Brexit delay

Boris Johnson was forced to send a letter to the EU on Saturday seeking a three-month extension to the Brexit process, after failing to get MPs to back his timetable for leaving.

But Daniel Kawczynski, the Polish-born MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, yesterday wrote to Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, asking him to veto the request.

In his letter, Mr Kawczynski wrote about the support Britain had given to the Polish people over the past half century, and asked that the Polish government would repay some of this goodwill.

"Throughout my life, I have been proud of the extraordinary support the UK has provided to Poland," he wrote.

"In the aftermath of World War Two, the UK refused to accept or tolerate Soviet dominion over central and eastern Europe. Instead the UK began to agitate against the authoritarian communist regimes that brought endless misery to so many."

He said the military preparedness and tough diplomacy of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were instrumental in bringing about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Mr Kawczynski said British support for Poland continued after the end of the Cold War, with the UK insisting that Germany guaranteed Poland's border during the reunification process.

"When the EU enlarged, it was the UK who championed Poland's application for both Nato and EU membership," he added.

"And when many EU members restricted access to migrants from central and eastern European nations, it was the UK who immediately and generously gave thousands of Poles the opportunity to live and work here."

Mr Kawczynski told Mr Morawiecki that the British people had given a clear instruction to leave the EU on October 31, and said it was in neither the Polish or UK interests to delay Brexit.

"By trying to frustrate, block and prevent Brexit, the elitist cabal of Remainers in Parliament are violating the democratic ideals that are so vital and precious for both the UK and Poland," he wrote.

Mr Kawczynski also dismissed claims that MPs needed more time to debate the deal the Prime Minister had agreed with the EU.

"They have had three-and-a-half years to debate this, it is not very different from Theresa May's deal apart from the backstop being removed, which we're all very glad about," he said.

"If necessary, we could debate it through the night or the weekend."