UK's Hunt would pursue no-deal Brexit in extremis with 'heavy heart'

LONDON (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he would be prepared to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union without a deal if there was no alternative, and with a heavy heart.

Hunt is in the running to replace Theresa May as prime minister.

“In the end, if the only way to leave the European Union, to deliver on the result of the referendum, was to leave without a deal, then I would do that,” he told BBC Radio. But I would do so very much as a last resort, with a heavy heart because of the risks to businesses and the risks to the union.

“I would be prepared to do it in extremis but I wouldn't do it if there was a prospect of a better deal and I think there is a prospect of a better deal and I think it's possible to get one before October 31, although I don't pretend it's going to be easy.”