Gove, candidate to lead Britain, says no article 50 this year

LONDON (Reuters) - Leading Brexit campaigner Michael Gove said he did not expect Britain to trigger article 50, the mechanism for leaving the European Union, this year. Gove made the comment during a news conference setting out his plans should he win the contest to lead the ruling Conservative Party and become the next prime minister. "One of the reasons I said 'not in this calendar year' is that I think we need to have some preliminary conversations - I wouldn't say negotiations - so I wouldn't want to put a timetable on it," he said. "We control the timing of when we trigger Article 50 and we will do it when we're good and ready." (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison)