THE SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford will urge other opposition leaders to join forces and seize control of the parliamentary agenda to block a No-Deal Brexit immediately Parliament returns after summer recess.

He will make his plea at a meeting of opposition leaders due to take place before Westminster returns on September 3.

Blackford told the Sunday National he believes top priority should be given to moves to seize control of the parliamentary agenda in the week the House of Commons returns on September 3, with the aim of passing a law to extend Article 50 to stop the UK crashing out the EU without a deal in October.

Only then, he argues, should attention turn to a proposed ousting of Boris Johnston as Prime Minister.

Blackford told the Sunday National: “What others are doing is focusing on personality – they are having a nice discussion about who should be in 10 Downing Street.

“What I want to do is focus on stopping No Deal and making sure Scotland has its right to determine its own future.

“The immediate threat we face is No-Deal Brexit. That is what we should be working on. Of course I would like to see Boris Johnson removed from Number 10, but let’s focus first and foremost on stopping No Deal.”

Blackford said he believed the focus should be on finding a mechanism to stop No-Deal Brexit, with a “clear majority” in the House of Commons for this course of action.

On Friday it was reported Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is “open to” the idea of using legislation to prevent a No-Deal Brexit, after he held discussions with Blackford.

Corbyn last week unveiled a plan to be installed as caretaker Prime Minister to delay Brexit and call a General Election – which was met with immediate resistance.

It won qualified support from the SNP and Plaid Cymru, but was flatly rejected by Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson, who said Corbyn could not secure the necessary majority.

She suggested it should instead be veteran Conservative Ken Clarke – who has confirmed he would be willing to lead a caretaker Government – or Labour’s Harriet Harman.

Corbyn’s plan was dealt another blow yesterday when another senior Tory – Sir Oliver Letwin – ruled out backing his plan.

Leading Tory rebel Dominic Grieve also reiterated yesterday he did not want to install Corbyn in Number 10.

However, he said he would be willing to cooperate with any parliamentary colleagues, including Corbyn, and to bring down Boris Johnson’s administration if necessary to try to prevent a No Deal.

He said: “I think that there is quite a considerable head of steam growing up to try to make sure that no-deal doesn’t occur.”

The talks involving opposition leaders are planned to take place in the week before the end of recess, with a “willingness for a number of us to work together”.

Blackford’s suggested move is an increasingly significant option being considered by MPs, after

In March, MPs seized control of the parliamentary timetable to allow backbenchers to hold a series of votes on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

Blackford said the SNP would support motions of no confidence to see the end of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, but the “absolute priority” had to be to stop the “economic self-harm” that would come with a No-Deal Brexit.

He said: “We do not have time, we have to move as quickly as we can. I’m saying to parliamentarians when we return that first week in September, we need to seize control that week. I’m looking forward to meeting opposition party leaders [the week before] – I think there is a willingness for a number of us to work together.

“The topic will be to make sure we work together to stop No-Deal and I will be willing to hear everyone’s ideas as to how we do that.”

He added: “Everything which has gone on at Westminster and the threat there is to Scotland from Brexit, makes it even more crystal clear that the people of Scotland have got to have the right to determine their own future.”

Professor Anand Menon, director of think tank UK in a Changing Europe, said he believed the legislative route was the most likely option out of the parliamentary plans to stop a No-Deal Brexit.

He said: “The first thing Parliament will try is the legislative route – simply because that involves less trade-offs. Being a Prime Minister is a big deal. Whoever is Prime Minister will have the powers of the Prime Minister.

“This also gives the person who does it an enormous amount of agenda setting power.

“If you think the purpose of this caretaker administration would be to delay Brexit then call an election – whoever that person was would make sure they call an election under the best possible circumstances for their party.”

“It is far easier for anyone who is an opponent of Jeremy Corbyn to vote for the legislative rather than the no-confidence route.

“However if that fails and we end up getting into October and the clock really is ticking, at that point it might be there is enough support for a vote of no-confidence in the Government as it is seen as the only way of stopping a No-Deal Brexit.”

Dr Kirsty Hughes, director of think tank the Scottish Centre on European Relations, said the legislative route is possible but “fraught with uncertainty”.

On the issue of Corbyn leading a caretaker government, she said it was hard to see how he would gain the Tory votes required.

She added: “How would Corbyn play it if he can’t form a government and somebody else tries – will he back that?”

But Hughes argued any agreement may only be reached after a vote of no confidence happens – which would give 14 days to form an alternative Government before a General Election is triggered.

She said: “At the moment this is exploratory stuff and people taking positions and seeing how that plays and so on.

“You can have a vote of no confidence, that goes through and might get support in the Commons, without having agreement on these different choices.

“The chips are really down after the vote of no confidence.”