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By Thomas Penny

June 9, 2019 at 11:42 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Boris Johnson, the front-runner to succeed Theresa May as U.K. prime minister, hardened his rhetoric on Brexit and unveiled a tax-cut plan as the other leading candidates prepared to start their campaigns on Monday.

Johnson, who quit May’s cabinet last year over her deal with the European Union, said he would scrap the Irish border backstop, withhold 39 billion pounds ($50 billion) owed to the bloc until an agreement is reached and leave on Oct. 31 -- even if it means doing so without a deal.