(Bloomberg) — Boris Johnson flew back into a momentous political crisis on Wednesday, after Britain’s Supreme Court ruled he broke the law by suspending Parliament. He’s facing calls to sack his political and legal advisers and will address the House of Commons later.
Members of Parliament returned to work this morning and are considering their options, ranging from new laws to stop a no-deal Brexit, to appointing a cross-party government of national unity. A general election is also on the horizon — though opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he won’t seek a vote of no confidence in the government until the risk of crashing out of the European Union without an agreement has been removed.
Key Developments:
Johnson will address Parliament on Wednesday afternoonAttorney General Geoffrey Cox is answering questions from lawmakersCabinet minister Michael Gove suggests the government does not need to apologize for suspending Parliament. He said “respectable” legal experts disagree with the courtJeremy Corbyn says Labour will wait until after Oct. 17 EU summit before considering calling confidence voteRead more: Johnson Flies Into His Gravest Crisis After Brexit Court DefeatThe Day After Brexit: What a Crash Out of the EU Might Look Like
Cox Defends Independence of Courts (11:50 a.m.)
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox added his voice to Justice Secretary Robert Buckland (see 9:55 a.m.) as he defended the independence of the judges in the Supreme Court.
“I don’t think it was a constitutional coup,” he said in response to a question about the reported comments of Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was sitting alongside him as he answered questions from MPs. He said the comments were “rhetorical and poetical license.”
“Judges are both impartial and independent and they are entitled to reach the view that they have reached,” he told the House of Commons.
And in a robust defense of the legal system and his advice to ministers, he reminded lawmakers that good lawyers often find themselves on the losing side. He had won in a number of courts before the cases reached the Supreme Court, he said. “The fact of the matter is this advice was sound advice at the time.”
Cox Says Government Accepts Court Decision (11:40 a.m.)
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said the government accepts the “definitive and final” ruling of the Supreme Court. “At all times the government acted in good faith,” he told the House of Commons, to jeering from the opposition benches.
Cox said he is considering whether to publish the advice given to the government on suspending Parliament. “I will consider over the coming days whether the public interest might require a greater disclosure of the advice given to the government on this subject,” he said.
A leaked version of the advice, reported by Sky News on Tuesday, showed Cox saying that the move was lawful.
Johnson to Set Out Next Steps (11:10 a.m.)
Boris Johnson will set out his next steps — including whether he still wants to hold a Queen’s Speech on Oct. 14 — when he addresses lawmakers in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon, his spokeswoman Alison Donnelly told reporters in London.
Johnson’s team are still considering the implications of the Supreme Court judgement and the prime minister “absolutely” still has confidence in Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, Donnelly said.
Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow has granted two urgent questions, according to Labour business managers, so Johnson’s statement is now not likely to happen until about 5 p.m.
Johnson to Address MPs as Storm Rages (10:45 a.m.)
Boris Johnson will make a statement to Parliament later on Wednesday after flying in from New York overnight.
When Parliament resumes at 11:30 a.m. there will first be a statement on the collapse of Thomas Cook by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, followed by a statement from No-Deal Brexit Minister Michael Gove, according to business managers from the opposition Labour Party.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will then update the House on Iran before Johnson appears before MPs. After Johnson, Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg will make a statement on future business, the Labour Whips said on Twitter.
Johnson Lands, Readies For Hostile Reception (10:20 a.m.)
Boris Johnson has arrived back at Heathrow airport, where a motorcade was waiting to whisk him into central London.
Less than eight hours earlier, he was addressing a polite late-evening audience at the United Nations on the subject of the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence. The reception in Parliament is likely to be significantly more hostile.
Rebuke for Ministers Straying Off Message (9:55 a.m.)
Disagreements among Boris Johnson’s top team were laid bare when Justice Secretary Robert Buckland reminded his colleagues of the need to support the judiciary, after a series of attacks on Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling.
“We must all remember that our world-class judiciary always acts free from political motivation or influence and that the rule of law is the basis of our democracy, for all seasons,” Buckland said Wednesday on Twitter. “Personal attacks on judges from any quarter are completely unacceptable.”
Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg told a cabinet conference call on Tuesday the ruling amounted to a constitutional coup, according to two people familiar with the conversation. On Wednesday, Michael Gove told BBC radio that respectable lawyers say the court was wrong (see Earlier).
Glimmers of Hope on Brexit Deal? (9:30 a.m.)
It may not be all doom and gloom for Boris Johnson. A few hours after the U.K. Supreme Court ruled that he’d broken the law by suspending Parliament, the British prime minister held his second meeting within a month with his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar.
On the surface, little seems to have changed, with Varadkar saying the gap between the two sides remains wide.
But he also said the encounter was “good” and that the pair would meet again “very soon,” suggesting the pace of engagement is quickening. The thorny question of how Northern Ireland might be given a say in any Brexit deal was discussed, pointing to some potential movement.
Ultimately, the discussions may lead nowhere — and Tuesday’s court decision gives Ireland little reason to offer concessions anytime soon. But Varadkar’s tone suggested all is not lost just yet.
Corbyn to Pursue Election Once No-Deal Risk Over (8:30 a.m.)
Opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn said he would be prepared to support Boris Johnson’s demand for an early general election, but only after the government has applied for a Brexit extension, per legislation passed by Parliament, in the event he can’t reach a deal with Brussels. Under the law, an election would follow 25 working days later.
“I’m very happy to have a general election when we’ve taken no-deal off the table,” Corbyn told BBC Radio 4. If the government applies for an extension and is granted one by the EU, that would “be a step forward,” he said.
Parliament resumes in London on Wednesday, but by convention, the legislature would be in recess while the Conservatives hold their annual conference in Manchester next week. Corbyn, who delivered the keynote speech to his own party’s conference on Tuesday, said he would refuse to allow another suspension of Parliament for the Tories to hold theirs.
Corbyn also called on Johnson to apologize to Queen Elizabeth II for giving her unlawful advice to suspend Parliament, “but more importantly apologize to the British people for what he’s done in trying to shut down our democracy at a very crucial time, he said.
Gove: Respectable Lawyers Say Court Is Wrong (Earlier)
Michael Gove, the U.K. minister in charge of no-deal Brexit planning, said there is respectable legal opinion that disagrees with the ruling of the Supreme Court on the suspension of Parliament.
“It’s perfectly possible to disagree with with some of the reasoning but to respect the rule of law,” Gove told BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday. His comments come after fellow Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg attacked the ruling on a conference call with Boris Johnson and other ministers, calling it a constitutional coup, two people familiar with the matter said.
Significantly, Gove also didn’t rule out the possibility of another suspension to allow a new session of Parliament to begin, saying the government wants to pursue its domestic agenda. He said the government would lay out its proposals to Parliament on Wednesday.
SNP Indicates Support for Corbyn as Interim PM (Earlier)
Ian Blackford, Westminster leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party — which is pushing the most strongly for an immediate general election — suggested in a BBC radio interview he could support Jeremy Corbyn as a temporary, interim prime minister to oversee an election.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Deputy leader Ed Davey proposed veteran MPs Harriet Harman for Labour, or Ken Clarke for the Tories, as a temporary solution for a cross-party government of national unity. For his part, Clarke told BBC radio that rather than discussing candidates, Parliament should be focusing on what any interim leader is trying to achieve.
Earlier:
Johnson Flies Into His Gravest Crisis After Brexit Court DefeatBoris Johnson’s Big Brexit Gamble Has Plainly Failed: EditorialThe Day After Brexit: What a Crash Out of the EU Might Look LikeBoris Johnson Caught in the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Web
–With assistance from Thomas Penny, Dara Doyle, Robert Hutton and Tim Ross.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at [email protected];Jessica Shankleman in London at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at [email protected], Stuart Biggs, Thomas Penny
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