London: Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted Sunday that "huge" progress was being made in Brexit talks and declared Britain would break out of the European Union just like the comic book hero "The Incredible Hulk". The Conservative leader made the comments ahead of meetings with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and EU negotiator Michel Barnier in Luxembourg on Monday. Johnson told the Mail on Sunday newspaper he was "very confident" of getting a divorce deal at an EU summit on October 17, in time for Brexit on October 31.

In an odd analogy, he compared Britain to the Marvel Comics character Hulk -- the destructive alter ego of scientist Bruce Banner who turns into the ferocious green giant when enraged or stressed. "The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets and he always escaped, no matter how tightly bound in he seemed to be -- and that is the case for this country," he said. But Johnson is facing strong opposition in parliament to his threat to leave the EU without a deal on October 31 if his negotiations fail. Many of the rebels are on his own side and on Saturday night, one of his Conservative MPs defected to the pro-European Liberal Democrats. Former universities minister Sam Gyimah, who briefly ran against Johnson for the party leadership this summer, condemned him for "veering towards populism".