Boris Johnson has pleaded with Tory MPs not to support measures to block a no-deal Brexit amid speculation he could call an election if he loses the crunch Commons showdown.
In a statement in Downing Street outside No.10 Downing Street the Prime Minister urged members of his own party not to join Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in backing a "pointless" delay.
He also said he didn't want an election but insisted he would not seek an extension to the Brexit deadline - which is what the cross-party alliance are demanding if there is not a deal.
In the statement, which followed an unscheduled Cabinet meeting, Johnson said if MPs voted against the Government and backed the cross-party Bill they would "chop the legs" out from under the UK's position in negotiating a deal with the EU.
He said: "I say, to show our friends in Brussels that we are united in our purpose, MPs should vote with the Government against Corbyn's pointless delay.
"I want everybody to know there are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay. We are leaving on October 31, no ifs or buts."
The Prime Minister claimed the chances of a Brexit deal are rising and he was "encouraged by the progress we are making" with Brussels.
Johnson had to contend with the noise of anti-Breixt protesters at the gates of Downing Street as he said: "We will not accept any attempt to go back on our promises or scrub that referendum.
"Armed and fortified with that conviction, I believe we will get a deal at that crucial summit in October. A deal that Parliament will certainly be able to scrutinise."
He said negotiators should be able to get on with their work without the "sword of Damocles" of an election hanging over them.
He said: "I don't want an election, you don't want an election. Let's get on with the people's agenda. Fighting crime, improving the NHS, boosting schools, cutting the cost of living, unlocking talent and opportunity across the entire United Kingdom."
Johnson spoke out as opposition parties released details of a Bill which aims to prevent the UK from leaving the EU without an agreement have been revealed.
The European Union (Withdrawal) (no 6) Bill is expected to be presented to Parliament by Labour former minister Hilary Benn on Wednesday after the opposition parties and rebel Tories MPs seize control of the Commons agenda on Tuesday.
It is believed that the Government will then table a motion under the Fixed Terms Parliament Act which will be triggered if the rebels win the vote, starting a process towards a potential General election with October 14 pencilled in as the likely date.
Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said the Bill could be Parliament's "last chance" to stop a "reckless and damaging" no-deal Brexit.
The Bill requires the Government to either reach a deal with the EU, or gain Parliament's approval for a no-deal exit by October 19.
If the Government has not met one of these conditions by the deadline, it will be require to write to the European Union seeking an extension, until January 31, 2020.
Benn said: "The purpose of the Bill is to ensure that the UK does not leave the European Union on the 31 October without an agreement, unless Parliament consents.
"The Bill gives the Government time either to reach a new agreement with the European Union at the European Council meeting next month or to seek Parliament's specific consent to leave the EU without a deal.
"If neither of these two conditions have been met, however, by 19th October - ie the day after the European Council meeting concludes - then the Prime Minister must send a letter to the president of the European Council requesting an Article 50 extension until 31 January 2020."
Benn added: "If the European Council agrees to an extension to the 31 January 2020, then the Prime Minister must immediately accept that extension.
"If the European Council proposes an extension to a different date then the Prime Minister must accept that extension within two days, unless the House of Commons rejects it."
Starmer said: "This Bill will stop Boris Johnson forcing through a reckless and damaging no deal Brexit on 31 October.
"This week could be Parliament's last chance to stop a no-deal Brexit. I am urging all MPs to act in the national interest and support this Bill."
Benn said the Bill has cross-party support from MPs who believe that the consequences of no-deal "for the economy and the country would be highly damaging".
He added: "No-deal is not in the national interest."
With opposition MPs lacking the numbers to force through the Bill they will require rebel Tories to back them. But Johnson has warned that they face losing the whip and being barred from standing for the party if they fail to back the Government.
And in comments viewed as a signal that an election will take place if he is defeated, a No.10 source said the vote will be "an expression of confidence in the Government's negotiating position to secure a deal and will be treated as such".
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg also described the vote as "essentially a confidence matter".
In the past, before the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the loss of a vote on an issue being treated as a matter of confidence would normally trigger an election.
However, two thirds of MPs must now back any motion to dissolve Parliament and hold a new election.
Strict rules also dictate the sequence of events were the Government to lose a vote of no-confidence.
If a majority of MPs vote to say they do not have confidence in Boris Johnson's Government, a 14-day period is automatically triggered beginning at midnight on the same day.
During these 14 days, MPs have the chance to form a new government that can win a vote of confidence.
Were MPs to fail to pass a motion of confidence in a new government by the end of this period, a general election would be automatically triggered.
There would then need to be a further 25 days between the dissolution of Parliament and polling day.
Earlier, Johnson was accused of "goading" some Tory MPs to rebel so he can force a snap general election having purged opponents of a no-deal Brexit from the party.
David Gauke, the former justice secretary and rebel ringleader, accused the Prime Minister of deliberately trying to lose votes to block a deal-less departure this week.
Gauke, head of the so-called "Gaukeward squad" of Tory rebels, said the Prime Minister's move was an "unusual" and "particularly confrontational" approach.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he has not been subject to the usual "cajoling" from Cabinet allies to urge him to support the Government's line.
"I think they seem to be quite prepared for there to be a rebellion, then to purge those who support the rebellion from the party," he said.
Gauke said he has taken the extraordinary move of writing to Attorney General Geoffrey Cox and Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland, asking them to confirm whether the Government believes in the rule of law.
The backbencher's letter came after Michael Gove, the minister in charge of no-deal planning, refused to confirm whether ministers would abide by any measure passed by Parliament.
Meanwhile, Hammond has written to the PM asking him to set out details of his plan to renegotiate the Brexit deal with Brussels in an apparent attempt to get Johnson to show whether he is serious about avoiding a no-deal exit.
In a sign of Cabinet unease about the tough stance being taken by Johnson, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said: "I have made my views clear to the Prime Minister that we should not be a party that is trying to remove from our party two former chancellors, a number of ex-cabinet ministers, that the way to hold our party together and to get a deal is to bring them onside and explain to them what we're trying to do and why."
She told the Spectator's Women With Balls podcast she questioned whether it was fair to take such action given that previous rebels who opposed Theresa May's deal - including Johnson - kept the whip
"I'm really urging the Government to think very carefully about taking such a dramatic step," she said.
Labour leader Corbyn, who called a meeting of his shadow cabinet in Salford to discuss tactics, said: "First we must come together to stop no-deal - this week could be our last chance.
"We are working with other parties to do everything necessary to pull our country back from the brink. Then we need a general election."
Former prime minister Tony Blair used a speech in London to urge Labour not to support any push by Downing Street for an early general election, but demand a Brexit referendum instead.
