'It is anti-democratic and matches the havoc wreaked by Trump' - European press on Boris Johnson's 'coup'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been described in the European media as a dictator. Picture: Getty Images

The Irish Times lambasted Mr Johnson's "reckless act" to railroad through a no-deal Brexit, which it says would not only harm Britain's economy but "also hurt Ireland and the EU".

It said opponents of a no-deal exit must now stop him.

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"No matter how often Johnson and his acolytes claim they are implementing the will of the people, one fact cannot change: nobody voted for this," the paper said.

"Not a single British citizen was ever asked to approve a hard Brexit, let alone a no-deal."

In Belgium, La Libre called it "the dangerous coup de force of Boris Johnson," while De Standaard gave prominence to the European Parliament's Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt's reaction that "taking back control" had "never looked so sinister".

Germany's Deutsche Welle's English version ran a simple headline of "Boris the dictator" above an editorial saying a "weakness in the British political system - rooted in its archaic traditions and heritage - is coming back to haunt the country".

"What Johnson is doing ... is befitting a military dictatorship," it said.

"It is anti-democratic and matches the havoc wreaked by US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

"These new ravagers are only interested in power for themselves, and their financiers among the ranks of the super-rich. To them, democratic procedures and institutional controls are simply tiresome accessories."

Spanish daily ABC relayed the news with a symbol of anarchy, doctoring the cover of 1970s punk rock hit God Save The Queen to substitute the name of the Sex Pistols with that of Boris Johnson.

France's Liberation ran a front page photo of Mr Johnson under a headline of "Brexit - harder and harder".