Boris Johnson is considering suspending Westminster in late October, which would prevent MPs from stopping a no-deal Brexit ahead of the EU’s Hallowe’en deadline.

While campaign aides were said to be playing down the possibility, they nonetheless admitted the option was under consideration.

But The Herald was told there were busy communications going on between parties seeking to block a no-deal outcome. One anti-Brexit MP insisted: “A way will be found,” while another suggested John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, had been “very helpful”.

Mr Johnson’s team is believed to be looking at scheduling a Queen's Speech for early November. This would mean the UK Parliament would be unlikely to sit for a week or two ahead of the speech.

READ MORE: Michael Gove in dramatic U-turn, declaring Boris Johnson would now make 'great' prime minister

Such a move would physically stop MPs from being able to block a no-deal Brexit.

One insider said the Johnson team was "discussing everything as an option" but stressed the candidate still wanted to secure a deal with Brussels and avoid a no-deal exit.

Guto Bebb, the former minister and a prominent Remain supporter, said he believed Mr Johnson's camp was "quite seriously contemplating" suspending Parliament.

"If you decided to do a Queen's Speech in early November, you'd prorogue Parliament in mid-October so we didn't sit for the final two weeks in October.

"It would basically mean that a no-deal Brexit, which has no democratic mandate whatsoever, would be imposed upon the people of this country without this House sitting,” he explained.

“That would be an outrage to our democratic traditions, it would be unacceptable and the worst part is I believe they are quite seriously contemplating doing just that," added the

Unlike his rival Jeremy Hunt, Mr Johnson has refused to rule out suspending Parliament to force Brexit through against the will of MPs.

The Foreign Secretary, meanwhile, pledged to put service personnel and their families “at the heart” of his proposed £15 billion boost to defence spending with a plan to build hundreds of new forces’ homes.

He explained that within 100 days of taking office, he would order a review of the UK’s defence capability, having committed to increasing the defence budget from two per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent by 2023/24.

As part of this commitment, Mr Hunt, whose father served in the Royal Navy, would instruct defence chiefs to focus on upgrading armed forces accommodation to deliver better homes for Britain’s service personnel and their families.

READ MORE: Dominic Grieve accuses Boris Johnson of 'further radicalisation' on Brexit by strengthening stance on Irish backstop

Backed by an injection of £1bn extra spending to build new homes, this would deliver up to 800 new homes and 2,500 new single bed spaces on top of existing plans.

“Increasing our defence budget will be crucial in helping us to walk tall in the world as we leave the European Union,” declared the Secretary of State.

“Yet coming from a military family, I know that Britain’s greatest military asset will always be the brave men and women who risk their lives to keep us safe. We need homes fit for heroes.

“That’s why, as Prime Minister, I will invest £1bn extra funding to deliver high quality, modern accommodation for them and their families,” he added.

Elsewhere, Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, who in the 2016 leadership contest scuppered Mr Johnson’s bid, insisting his fellow Brexiteer could “not provide the leadership” needed, performed a dramatic U-turn in a speech at Kew Gardens in London when he suggested his colleague would now make a “great” prime minister.

The Scot declined to say which candidate he was backing, declaring: “I won’t say who I’m going to vote for; it will be the love that dare not speak its name.” But the suspicion at Westminster is Cabinet ministers are manoeuvring frantically to secure jobs in a Johnson Cabinet.

Last week, Amber Rudd, the Work and Pensions Secretary, who had been vehemently opposed to a no-deal Brexit, having urged Theresa May to take the option off the table, said: “Both candidates have said that no-deal is part of the armoury going forward and I have accepted that.”

In other developments:

*Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General, warned the next PM that his government would collapse if he sought a no-deal Brexit and hinted he would resign the Tory whip if Mr Johnson became the PM;

*Ursula Von der Leyen, the incoming new European Commission President, said Brexit could be delayed again beyond October 31 “should more time be required”;

*EU sources said Brussels would oppose outright the two leadership candidates’ plans to axe the Irish border backstop from the Withdrawal Agreement and

*their harder backstop stance hit the pound, which fell almost one cent to hit $1.2399; its lowest level since April 2017.