Originally Posted by The Sun
BORIS Johnson has been warned he must deliver Brexit within 100 days or risk MPs deserting him.
Tories backing his leadership bid have bluntly told him they will quit if he fails to meet the Halloween deadline for leaving the EU.
A former minister said: “We’ve all invested heavily in backing Boris. But he has got to keep his word. If he lets us down, it’s over.”
The warning shot from hardline Brexiteers came as an exclusive Sun on Sunday poll put BoJo in an almost unassailable lead in the race for Number 10.
Some of the 120 MPs endorsing him last night made it clear his reign will be a short one if Britain stays in the EU beyond October 31. That gives him barely 100 days to strike a departure deal with EU chiefs after he takes office at the end of July.
The PM-in-waiting has been warned that patience is wearing thin among members of the European Research Group of Tory MPs. Several have even suggested they would defect to Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party.
One senior figure warned it could spell the end not only for Mr Johnson’s government but for the Conservatives. He said: “We’ve told him straight. If we don’t leave on schedule this time around, all bets are off.
“The donors will turn off the money taps, the members will be gone and MPs will walk too. We’ll be left with no choice but to join the Brexit Party. The country has put up with this for long enough. It’s three years since we voted to leave the EU and the big day keeps being put off.
“We’ve had so many broken promises from Theresa May and we are not going to be let down by Boris Johnson. We’ve told him in no uncertain terms, and I think he gets it.”