Britain's Hunt says pursuing no-deal Brexit 'political suicide'

LONDON (Reuters) - British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said it would be “political suicide” to pursue a no-deal Brexit through a general election, adding he would look for more time to secure a new Brexit deal if he replaced Prime Minister Theresa May.

Hunt pitched himself against other leading candidates to replace May, saying that a promise to leave the European Union by a specific date with or without a deal would be blocked by lawmakers who oppose no-deal and trigger a national election.

“Trying to deliver no deal through a general election is not a solution; it is political suicide,” Hunt wrote in Tuesday's Daily Telegraph.

“A different deal is, therefore, the only solution – and what I will pursue if I am leader.”

Hunt, who voted remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, is among ten Conservative lawmakers who have so far put themselves forward to replace May as party leader and prime minister.