Supreme Court to give historic Parliament suspension ruling

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.

What happened in the Supreme Court?
How did the government suspend Parliament?
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.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Campaigner Gina Miller first challenged the suspension of Parliament in the High Court
‘Calls for his resignation’
The BBC’s legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the 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.”

Media captionThe BBC’s Clive Coleman takes a look inside the UK’s Supreme Court
‘Forbidden territory’
During the Supreme Court case, government lawyer Lord Keen QC said it was “forbidden territory” for judges to intervene on political arguments about when and how Parliament is suspended.

However, Lord Pannick QC, representing Mrs Miller, argued the “exceptional length” of the prorogation was “strong evidence” that the prime minister’s motive was to “silence Parliament”, which he saw as an obstacle to his political aims.

Mr Johnson said he was proroguing Parliament in order to hold a new Queen’s Speech on 14 October to outline the government’s legislative plans for the year ahead.

However, the timing has been controversial because it reduced the time Parliament was sitting ahead of the Brexit deadline, with MPs unable to put questions to ministers or scrutinise government legislation during the suspension.

What could happen next?
The Supreme Court will first determine whether prorogation is a matter for the courts – and, if so, whether the decision of Mr Johnson to prorogue Parliament was lawful.

If the government wins, then nothing changes – Parliament remains suspended until 14 October.

But things could get complicated if the justices decide Mr Johnson acted unlawfully.

In documents submitted to the court, the government said it could see three options if the court ruled against it – and in some scenarios, it might suspend Parliament all over again.

The court might rule this suspension unlawful, but their reasons might leave open the possibility of proroguing Parliament for the same time period in a different, lawful way.

The judges could decide that the only lawful option is for the prime minister to recall Parliament before 14 October. Lawyers for Mr Johnson said he would comply, but it would require “extensive arrangements” to draw up a new Queen’s Speech and get ready for the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament

The judges could declare the suspension unlawful, meaning Parliament would remain in session as if it had never stopped. The government said it might still be able to consider suspending it again

But Lord Pannick said all the judges needed to do was declare the suspension unlawful. The prime minister would not have to take any action and the Speakers of the Commons and Lords could decide how to proceed.

Source: BBC News