British MPs returned to parliament on Wednesday following a momentous Supreme Court ruling that struck down Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend the house weeks before the Brexit deadline.
The judgement has hit Johnson’s authority, prompting calls for his resignation and cast further doubt on his promise to pull Britain out of the EU on October 31, come what may.
The Conservative leader landed back in London at around 10:30am (0930 GMT) after a trip to New York, heading straight into a political maelstrom triggered by Tuesday’s damning court ruling that his decision to suspend parliament for five weeks was unlawful.
He was due to address parliament later on Wednesday over the ruling, while insisting that he would still not accept MPs’ demands to ask Brussels for an extension to the October 31 Brexit deadline, according to his Downing Street office, setting him on another collision course with lawmakers.
The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, reconvened parliament at 11:30 am (1030 GMT) on Wednesday, with the upper House of Lords to return later in the day.
Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn called on Johnson to resign but said he would not call a no confidence vote in parliament until the possibility of a no-deal Brexit has been eliminated.
“Our first priority is to prevent a no-deal exit from the European Union on October 31,” Corbyn told BBC radio.
Bercow said there would be no Prime Minister’s Questions — a weekly session held on Wednesdays — but there would be “full scope for urgent questions, for ministerial statements, and for applications for emergency debates”.
Cabinet member Michael Gove said the government would outline its next steps in parliament later on Wednesday.
“I don’t think that the government should apologise for having a strong domestic agenda. I don’t think we should apologise also for seeking to advance our exit from the European Union,” Gove told the BBC.
AFP
