Boris Johnson: I strongly disagree with Supreme Court ruling but will come back from UN summit

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Boris Johnson has said he "strongly disagrees" with the Supreme Court ruling but will respect the decision and return from the US to attend Parliament.

The Prime Minister said it was an "unusual judgement to come to" but that he respected the judicial process.

But sources also insisted he would rebuff calls to resign. Mr Johnson vowed he would "get on and deliver Brexit" by the October 31 deadline.

Speaking in New York for the first time since the court ruling was announced, he said: “Obviously this is a verdict that we will respect and we respect the judicial process.

“I have to say that I strongly disagree with what the justices have found. I don’t think that it’s right but we will go ahead and of course Parliament will come back.”

Boris Johnson pictured in the US today
AP

Told the court found the prorogation unlawful and undemocratic, Mr Johnson said: “I’m not certain that the justices did say that. I think that they certainly thought that the prorogation we chose was not something they could approve of.

“It’s an unusual judgment to come to.”

Mr Johnson added: “I do think there’s a good case for getting on with a Queen’s Speech anyway and we will do that.

"I think the most important thing is we get on and deliver Brexit on October 31 and clearly the claimants in this case are determined to frustrate that and to stop that.

“I think it would be very unfortunate if Parliament made that objective, which the people want, more difficult but we will get on.”

A source said Mr Johnson was expected to make it back to London just in time for Parliament to resume.

A No 10 source said: “He will be back in London at around 11 o’clock tomorrow.”

As Mr Bercow made the summons, Jeremy Corbyn's keynote speech at the Labour conference in Brighton was rushed forward to this afternoon instead of tomorrow so he can sit in the Commons.

Mr Johnson said he would respect the court ruling
PA

Parliament could even sit during next week’s Tory conference, derailing Mr Johnson’s big speech.

The extraordinary and unprecedented scenes came after the court declared the Prime Minister’s actions to have been “unlawful, void and of no effect” .

In a unanimous ruling , 11 top judges said Parliament is free to return to sit at Westminster because the Prime Minister’s advice to the Queen was invalid. “Parliament has not been prorogued,” said Lady Hale, president of the Supreme Court.

Standing outside the House of Commons, Mr Bercow said there would be “full scope for urgent questions, ministerial statements and emergency debates” from tomorrow.

From the House of Lords, Speaker Lord Fowler said peers would get back to work “at the earliest opportunity”.

Former Lib Dem Cabinet minister Sir Ed Davey also said: “Boris needs to get his butt back here now so Parliament can kick him out of office.”

Former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve said: “The Prime Minister should consider his position. He has shown to have acted with cavalier and reckless disregard for our unwritten constitution. He has decided to break its norms.”

Mr Corbyn stood up to cheers at his party’s conference and said Mr Johnson should “consider his position” after being found guilty of “contempt for democracy and an abuse of power”. Calls for Mr Johnson to quit were also made by Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson, who said he was “not fit for office”, and Scottish Nationalists.

From the European Union, senior MEP Guy Verhofstadt tweeted: “At least one big relief in the Brexit saga: the rule of law in the UK is alive & kicking.”

Jeremy Corbyn reacts to the news with a thumbs up
AP

There was silence from Buckingham Palace, where officials had heard Lady Hale explain that the Queen’s order for prorogation was “void” because it was based on unlawful advice from her own Prime Minister.

Lady Hale said the effect of the suspension was “extreme”. To prorogue Parliament — an ancient ritual usually carried out just days before a Queen’s Speech — meant MPs were unable to question and scrutinise ministers, and Bills fell. It was, she said, for the courts to check that such powers were not abused.

The ruling stated: “The decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification.”

Piece by piece, the Supreme Court dismantled claims by Mr Johnson’s legal team that a five-week suspension was neither unusual nor unlawful.

The court used rulings dating back to 1611 to prove the case that the executive, or Government, had no authority to prevent Parliament doing its duties without good reason.

Lady Hale said: “The effect upon the fundamentals of our democracy was extreme. No justification for taking action with such an extreme effect has been put before the court.”

Boris Johnson with Dominic Cummings
AFP/Getty Images

She said that the court’s finding was that Mr Johnson’s advice to the Queen was void — and prorogation therefore never happened in law. This means that when the royal commissioners walked into the House of Lords it was as if they walked in with a blank sheet of paper,” she stated.

“The prorogation was also void and of no effect. Parliament has not been prorogued. This is the unanimous judgment of all 11 justices.” Shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti said: “No one is above the law — not even Boris Johnson and his arrogant and entitled chums.”

In a statement, Mr Bercow said: “I welcome the Supreme Court’s judgment that the prorogation of Parliament was unlawful.

“The judges have rejected the Government’s claim that closing down Parliament for five weeks was merely standard practice to allow for a new Queen’s Speech.

“In reaching their conclusion, they have vindicated the right and duty of Parliament to meet at this crucial time to scrutinise the executive and hold Ministers to account.

“As the embodiment of our Parliamentary democracy, the House of Commons must convene without delay. To this end, I will now consult the party leaders as a matter of urgency.”

The crisis for the Johnson premiership comes just six weeks before the deadline for Britain to leave the EU.

Former Cabinet minister Amber Rudd revealed that the PM had kept his ministers in the dark about his tactics. “Despite personal assurances from the PM, the Cabinet was not shown the legal advice around this prorogation,” she tweeted. “This is an astonishing moment and I regret that the PM, who entered office with such goodwill, went down this route. I urge him to work with Parliament to pass a deal.”

There were calls for Mr Johnson to sack his controversial strategic adviser Dominic Cummings, the former Vote Leave boss, who was said to have advised the tactics. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage called it “the worst political decision ever”, adding: “Dominic Cummings must go.”

Speaking ahead of the ruling, Cabinet minster Andrea Leadsom said she did not know if Mr Johnson would suspend the Commons a second time. “That will be a matter for the Prime Minister, but I’m not speculating,” she said.

Mrs Leadsom defended the original decision, saying: “In the longest parliamentary session in over 400 years, it’s perfectly reasonable to decide to prorogue and to set out a new domestic legislative programme.”

Mr Johnson came under pressure to “urgently” bring back the 21 Tory MPs who were stripped of the whip for voting to block a no deal Brexit.

Former Tory leadership rival Jeremy Hunt said: “I think the pressing need now, the situation that urgently needs to be resolved, is around the 21 MPs who lost the whip.” He said Mr Johnson “deserves great credit” for boosting Tory hopes for the election but to win “you need a united party and that’s why I think what we need is generosity on both sides”. He made clear he thought the decision to suspend Parliament was made “with political considerations in mind” but pointed out that a law to stop no-deal had passed anyway.

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