UK PM candidate Leadsom: Brexit on Oct. 31 is my 'hard red line'

LONDON (Reuters) - Andrea Leadsom, one of the candidates vying to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May, said on Tuesday she would seek a managed Brexit but that leaving the European Union on Oct. 31 was a hard, red line.

"Leaving the EU on the 31st of October is, for me, a hard red line," Leadsom said as she launched her campaign. "The next prime minister must have a clear plan to a managed exit by the end of October."

Leadsom said she would ramp up preparations for Brexit and that her "managed exit" would bring minimal disruption.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, editing by Guy Faulconbridge)