Face of Nation : The highest court in the UK is set to make a historic ruling on whether Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks was lawful. Ministers say the suspension, or prorogation, is not a court matter, but critics argue it was intended to limit scrutiny of the PM’s Brexit plans.
If the judgement – due at 10:30 BST – goes against Mr Johnson, Parliament could be reconvened immediately. The government has said it will “abide by the ruling” of the Supreme Court. But Mr Johnson – who is in New York for a UN climate conference – has refused to rule out seeking to prorogue Parliament for a second time if the ruling goes against him.
Asked whether he would resign if the Supreme Court ruled against him, Mr Johnson told the BBC: “I’m going to wait and see what the judgement is,” adding that the government “fully respects the law and fully respects the judiciary”.
Parliament is currently due to return on 14 October, with the UK scheduled to leave the EU on 31 October. The three-day hearing at the Supreme Court dealt with two appeals – one from campaigner and businesswoman Gina Miller, the second from the government.
Ms Miller was appealing against the English High Court’s decision that the prorogation was “purely political” and not a matter for the courts. The government was appealing against the ruling by Scotland’s Court of Session that the prorogation was “unlawful” and had been used to “stymie” Parliament.
The challenge in the Scottish Court was brought by a cross-party group of MPs and peers led by the SNP’s Joanna Cherry. Supreme Court had to resolve the two dramatically contradictory rulings – and one outcome could lead to calls for Mr Johnson to resign.
“If the Supreme Court decides that it is a matter for them, then it could rule that Boris Johnson’s advice to the Queen was lawful, meaning Boris Johnson wins,” he said.
“Or it could rule that his advice to the Queen was unlawful, either because of his improper motivation or perhaps more likely that the effect was that legislation was lost and Parliamentary scrutiny was improperly denied.
“The effect of that would be that Boris Johnson loses. Both are bad for him, but a ruling that he misled the Queen through an improper motive would be especially bad and there would be calls for his resignation in that scenario.”
