Emergency legal bid to stop suspension of Parliament begins

Emergency legal bid to stop suspension of Parliament begins

Copyright: Scottish Legal News

An emergency legal bid to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson from suspending Parliament has begun at the Court of Session.

Seventy-five parliamentarians are supporting the action which seeks an interim interdict to prevent the suspension of Parliament pending a full hearing, to begin on 6 September.

Senior counsel for the parliamentarians, Aidan O’Neill QC told Lord Doherty in the Outer House that “sometimes the resolution of legal questions will have political consequences”.

He argued that suspending Parliament meant a denial of “political accountability” and that it was unconstitutional.

Mr Johnson said a Queen’s Speech would take place following the suspension on 14 October and would detail his “very exciting agenda” of new laws.

But critics say this means it is unlikely MPs would have the time required to pass laws to prevent a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

The MPs want the court to rule that proroguing Parliament before Brexit would be “both unlawful and unconstitutional” and would have “irreversible legal, constitutional and practical implications for the United Kingdom”.

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