Boris Johnson news – live: PM loses second attempt to trigger early general election
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Your support makes all the difference.No 10 has announced that a five-week suspension parliament will begin tonight, as Boris Johnson’s flies back from his first official meeting with Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar in Dublin.
It comes as the prime minister sets up a possible Brexit showdown in the Supreme Court after it emerged No 10 is ready to launch a legal fight against the anti-no deal legislation.
Mr Johnson is also reportedly ready to send a second letter to the EU – alongside the request for a three-month delay required of him – explaining he does not actually want any delay after 31 October. Labour figures branded the plan “illegal” and “monumentally ridiculous”.
Here’s something that isn’t about John Bercow…
Penny Mordaunt, the former defence secretary, has said she made five attempts to convene a Cobra meeting to discuss the Iran shipping crisis before she finally got one.
She is giving evidence to the Defence Select Committee on the Strait of Hormuz, after a Swedish-owned, British-flagged tanker was seized on 19 July by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps.
If you’re planning on spending an evening in watching BBC Parliament tonight – don’t worry, you’re not alone.
The channel has drawn its highest ever audience of 2.6 million viewers over the last week, breaking the record set earlier this year (when 2.2 million viewers tuned in during the week beginning 14 January).
On Tuesday, the channel saw its biggest single day on record with a peak of 727,000 adults watching at 10.14 pm.
Meanwhile, MPs have finally finished praising Mr Bercow – it took nearly an hour and a half…
We are now moving on to Dominic Grieve’s emergency debate, which would force the government to publish WhatsApp communications and other messages relevant to the five week suspension of parliament.
The Speaker has also given access to an emergency debate by Jeremy Corbyn, which demands Boris Johnson’s government must adhere to the rule of law over the Benn bill to prevent a no-deal exit.
Mr Corbyn’s motion reads:
“That this House welcomes the completion of all parliamentary stages of the European Union (Withdrawl) (No.6) Bill and has considered the matter of the importance of the rule of law and Ministers obligation to comply with the law.”
This is a rough timetable for parliamentary business tonight, according to the Labour Whips office.
In short, it’s going to be another long night.
Dominic Grieve is delivering a scathing assessment of the government’s reasoning for prorogation.
In setting out his case for why MPs need more information on the decision, the former Conservative MP is taking some extraordinary shots at Mr Johnson’s government.
The race to become the next Speaker has already begun as well.
Sir Edward Leigh, a Conservative MP, has announced that he will stand for the position.
However, Daniel Kawczynski, who is also a Conservative MP, has said he will support Harriet Harman “without hesitation” if she stands for election.
The government does not sound interested in following Mr Grieve’s demands to release prorogation documents if his motion passes tonight.
Here are two combative statements from Downing Street sources:
Meanwhile, Sir Lindsay Hoyle has announced he will be standing as a candidate to become the Speaker.
Sir Hoyle, who is a Labour MP and the Deputy Speaker, has said the House needs an experienced candidate during “unprecedented times”.
He also thanked Mr Bercow for being a “champion of LGBT and BAME rights” and helping to bring about a “more diverse and representative House”.
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