WLD Johnson-1575029582889
Boris Johnson, U.K. prime minister, pauses during a news conference in London, U.K. on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019. Image Credit: Bloomberg

London: Queen Elizabeth is beyond reproach but there is a distinction between the monarchy and the rest of the royal family, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday when asked if the monarchy was beyond reproach after the scandal involving Prince Andrew.

“The monarchy is the queen and in my view she is beyond reproach - there is a distinction between the monarchy and the royal family and everybody will readily appreciate that,” Johnson said.

On Brexit, he said he planned to keep in place preparations the government has made for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

“Many of those preparations will be extremely valuable as we come out of EU arrangements anyway. So I think that they were a right thing to have done and to keep in a state of readiness,” he told reporters.

Johnson added he was confident that Britain would get a free trade deal with the European Union by the end of 2020 which would eliminate the risk of a Brexit shock for the economy.