Boris Johnson news: John Bercow warns prime minister against disobeying law by not asking for Brexit delay
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Your support makes all the difference.John Bercow has warned Boris Johnson against disobeying the law by not asking for a Brexit delay
It comes after the prime minister denied lying to the Queen over the suspension of parliament, insisting such claims were “absolutely not” true.
Earlier on Thursday, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon claimed the title of the Yellowhammer document, seen by her Holyrood government, was changed before its release by Downing Street on Wednesday night.
Mr Johnson is under renewed pressure to reopen parliament after the dossier revealed the “unprecedented” scale of the problems the nation could face in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The United Kingdom’s prime minister being asked whether he lied to the United Kingdom’s head of state:
BREAKING: A legal challenge in Belfast High Court that argued the government’s Brexit strategy will damage the Northern Ireland peace process has been dismissed.
In his written judgment, the judge said: “I consider the characterisation of the subject matter of these proceedings as inherently and unmistakably political to be beyond plausible dispute.
“Virtually all of the assembled evidence belongs to the world of politics, both national and supra-national.
“Within the world of politics the well-recognised phenomena of claim and counterclaim, assertion and counter-assertion, allegation and denial, blow and counter-blow, alteration and modification of government policy, public statements, unpublished deliberations, posturing, strategy and tactics are the very essence of what is both countenanced and permitted in a democratic society.”
Boris Johnson has been asked about the possibility of a compromise Brexit agreement. “I’m very hopeful that we will get a deal,” he said.
“I think we can see the rough area of a landing space, of how you can do it – it will be tough, it will be hard, but I think we can get there.”
But someone on board the NLV Pharos, a lighthouse vessel moored on the Thames, doesn’t look too impressed.
Boris Johnson speaks to apprentices on NLV Pharos (AFP)
Amber Rudd said up to 20 MPs stripped of the Tory whip could stand as “Independent Conservatives” at the next election.
Her comments came as Boris Johnson reached out an olive branch to some of the 21 rebels he expelled, with chief whip Mark Spencer writing to inform them of the process to reapply to join.
Our political editor has the details here.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has reiterated calls for parliament to be recalled immediately, adding that it is even more crucial following the release of Operation Yellowhammer documents.
McDonnell said: “We’ve asked parliament to be reconvened. The government has already lost one court case this week and the Supreme Court may well reflect this judgement on Tuesday.”
He added: “The serious consequences of a no-deal Brexit have been exposed by the Yellowhammer documents.”
The shadow chancellor also said that comments made by ministers regarding the impact of a no-deal Brexit “have not been reflected in the documents”.
He concluded: “Parliament should be sitting now.”
Boris Johnson has claimed that a “rough area of a landing space” has emerged in Brexit negotiations – with plenty of talk a compromise is possible over an all-Ireland “agrifood zone”.
But in the EU, officials do not see where the landing space could be.
David Sassoli, the new president of the European parliament, has re-iterated the need for a backstop. And he has said the UK has still to present “credible” alternatives to the backstop.
Intriguingly, Sassoli has said the EU is open to an extension of Article 50 if the UK indicates a general election lies ahead.
David Sassoli, the president of the European Parliament, has criticised Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament in the UK, saying: “I’m in favour of parliaments being open permanently.”
Amber Rudd has revealed Theresa May considered suspending parliament, but ruled out the idea as the "wrong approach" and "un-Conservative".
The ex-cabinet minister, who quit the Tory whip and government at the weekend, made the remarks as Boris Johnson was accused of misleading the Queen about his motives for proroguing parliament.
It comes after Scotland's highest civil court ruled on Wednesday that the prime minister's decision to shut the doors of Westminster on MPs for a five-week period was "unlawful".
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