Very difficult for PM May's successor to pursue a no deal exit - Hammond

LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Sunday it would be very difficult for Prime Minister Theresa May's successor to bypass the will of parliament and seek to take Britain out of the European Union without a deal.

Several of the candidates vying to take over from May have said Britain must leave on Oct. 31, without or without a deal. Parliament has repeatedly voted against a no-deal Brexit and Hammond said he did not believe Britain was likely to be heading towards leaving without an agreement.

Hammond said parliament would be "vehemently opposed" to a strategy of leaving without a deal.

"It would be very difficult for a prime minister who adopted no deal as a policy ... to retain the confidence of the House of Commons," Hammond told BBC TV, adding that he could not personally support a no-deal strategy.

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and David Milliken; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)