The pound is plunging on 'no-deal' Brexit fears after Boris Johnson moves to shut down Parliament

Reuters

• Britain's pound crashed on Wednesday morning over fears of a no-deal Brexit.
• The pound was down 0.7% against the dollar and 0.6% against the euro as of 1:30 pm in London.
• Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, has asked the queen to suspend Parliament in a bid to force a "no-deal" Brexit.
• Watch the pound versus the dollar live here.

Britain's pound crashed on Wednesday after Boris Johnson took steps to suspend Parliament to force a "no-deal" Brexit, where the UK would leave the EU without any deal in place.

Traders worry a no-deal Brexit would leave thousands of people and businesses at risk, with question marks over tariffs, trade, immigration, and borders.

The pound fell 0.7% against the dollar and 0.6% against the euro as of 1:30 pm in London (8:30 am EST).

"The pound is in freefall this morning after plans emerged to prorogue parliament and prevent MPs from passing legislation to prevent no deal," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst for the UK & EMEA at Oanda. "This isn't the first we've heard of these dirty tactics but it was maybe hoped that such un-democratic measures would not be needed or used."

Markets Insider

The pound crashed on Wednesday

Johnson has asked the Queen to shut down the UK parliament in order to force Brexit through no matter what on October 31, meaning UK lawmakers would have just days left to alter or block the move.

Opponents accused Johnson of a "deeply undemocratic" move. House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said Johnson's decision would be a "constitutional outrage."