LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged calm as tempers flare in the debate over Britain's departure from the European Union, even though tempers are flaring over what he said.

A defiant Johnson told the BBC on Sunday that the "best thing for the country and for people's overall psychological health would be to get Brexit done."

Johnson admitted that tensions were high as lawmakers discussed the prospect of Britain leaving the EU by Oct. 31. But he defended the use of words such as "surrender" act to describe an opposition law ordering a Brexit delay and claimed he's been a "model of restraint" in speaking about Brexit.

Johnson headed Sunday to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, where the party was expected to endorse government plans to spend more on the country's National Health Service.