United Kingdom

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has finally abandoned his promise of an October Brexit and pinned his hopes on a December election.

Two days after lawmakers stymied Johnson’s latest attempt to pass his European Union divorce deal, he said Thursday that the only way to break Britain’s Brexit impasse was a general election. Johnson said he would ask lawmakers to vote Monday on a motion calling a national poll for Dec. 12.

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the death of 39 people found in a truck container in southeastern England (all times local):

3:30 a.m.

The Chinese Embassy in London says the nationalities of the 39 people found dead in a container truck in England have not been confirmed, appearing to contradict a police statement that they were Chinese.

A statement dated Friday on the embassy website said police are verifying the identity of the victims and their nationality still cannot be confirmed.

LONDON (AP) — British police expanded an investigation into one of the country’s deadliest cases of human smuggling after 39 people were found dead in a refrigerated container truck near an English port. Essex police said the victims were believed to be from China, though its embassy said their nationalities were still being verified.

The Essex Police force said 31 men and eight women were found dead in the truck early Wednesday at an industrial park in Grays, a town 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of London.

LONDON (Reuters) - The 39 people found dead in the back of a truck near London were Chinese, ITV News reported on Thursday, as police questioned the driver of the vehicle who was detained on suspicion of murder.

Paramedics and police found the bodies of 38 adults and one teenager early on Wednesday in a truck container on an industrial estate at Grays, about 20 miles (32 km) east of the British capital.

LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - The United Kingdom will ultimately leave the European Union on the terms of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deal, a senior Downing Street source said on Thursday, as EU leaders mulled offering London a three-month flexible Brexit delay.

More than three years after voting 52%-48% to be the first sovereign country to leave the European project, the United Kingdom is waiting for the EU to decide how long the latest delay to Brexit should be.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Brexit minister Stephen Barclay said on Thursday he hoped opposition lawmakers would think again and allow the government’s proposed timetable for passing Brexit legislation to pass.

Parliament on Tuesday blocked Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempt to fast-track legislation needed to ratify and implement the Brexit deal he reached with Brussels last week.

Responding to a member of the Scottish National Party, Barclay said: “I hope the honorable gentleman will think again and enable the program motion (timetable) to go through.”

LONDON (AP) — Police raided two sites in Northern Ireland and questioned a truck driver as officers investigate the death of 39 people found in a container at an industrial park in southeastern England.

The truck and the trailer with the people inside apparently took separate circuitous journeys before ending up on the grounds of the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of London on the River Thames.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was appalled after 39 bodies were found in a container east of London.

“I’m appalled by this tragic incident in Essex,” Johnson said.

“I am receiving regular updates from the Home Office and will work closely with Essex Police as we establish exactly what has happened,” he said. “My thoughts are with all those who lost their lives & their loved ones.”

LONDON (Reuters) - British police found the bodies of 39 people inside a truck container believed to have come from Bulgaria at an industrial estate to the east of London on Wednesday.

The discovery was made in the early hours after emergency services were alerted to people in the container, on a gritty industrial site in Grays, about 20 miles from central London.

Police said the driver of the truck, a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, had been arrested on suspicion of murder. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was appalled.

London, Oct 22 (PTI) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday "paused" his Brexit Bill for leaving the European Union (EU) by the October 31 deadline after MPs vote for it 329 to 299 but then voted against a crucial attached motion that would have seen it through by the end of the week.