Boris Johnson news: Government lawyer refuses to say whether PM could suspend parliament again, as Supreme Court hears he 'committed worst abuse of power in decades'
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The legal battle over Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament for five weeks is being heard at the Supreme Court, with Gina Miller’s legal representative arguing the prime minister “abused his power”.
Mr Johnson has pledged to “obey the law” but said he wanted to “wait and see what the judges say” before his government decides whether to recall parliament.
It comes as Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson claimed she is a “candidate for prime minister”, while Tory MPs condemned Luxembourg’s prime minister Xavier Bettel for conducting a press conference next to an empty lectern.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below:
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Jo Swinson is promising the Lib Dems will halt Brexit “on day one” if they win a parliamentary majority in the looming general election expected within weeks.
Our political editor has all the details ahead of her first conference speech as leader.
Tory MPs and Boris Johnson’s allies in the press are not happy at all with Luxembourg’s prime minister Xavier Bettel for conducting a press conference next to an empty lectern.
Iain Duncan Smith, former Tory leader, said: “The irony is that Luxembourg was saved by Britain. National leaders should always treat one another with courtesy and civility. Good ones do.”
Nigel Evans, joint secretary of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, said: “Pathetic grandstanding by Lux PM – another reason why the British people voted the way we did.”
David Morris, Tory MP, said: “The PM and his team are working day in and day out to deliver a deal for Britain – this is no time for childish stunts.”
Sir Nicholas Soames, one of the 21 rebels expelled, accused Bettel of “unhelpful grandstanding”.
According to The Sun, a No 10 official called Bettel “a clown” for staging the solo press conference.
The Daily Express called it an “ambush”, while The Daily Mail said it was a “deliberate attempt to humiliate the British prime minister”.
Boris Johnson has promised to “obey the law” in his latest interview with the BBC, but again pledged to “exit with no deal on 31 October” if necessary.
He refused seven times to tell Laura Kuenssberg how he would somehow skirt the Benn bill blocking a no-deal Brexit.
And he also said he “will wait and see” what the Supreme Court decides before deciding whether to re-open parliament.
All the details here.
Liberal Democrat MP Chuka Umunna has said he “wouldn’t rule out” the party winning a majority in the House of Commons in the coming snap election.
He predicted leader Jo Swinson would be a “wild card” in the election, disrupting the two major parties to an extent that is not yet appreciated.
Asked on BBC1’s Breakfast whether he believed the Lib Dems could win a majority in the Commons, Umunna said: “I certainly wouldn’t rule that out. The fact of the matter is we just don’t know what is going to happen.
“I think there is something very big going on in British politics at the moment. We are seeing a reconfiguration of British politics.”
He said that under Boris Johnson the Conservatives had become a “right-wing nationalist party” expelling its own moderate MPs. And he dismissed Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn as “not fit to govern”.
And he told Sky News: “We’ve got a new, young, dynamic leader who has unity in her party and is not having to be consumed by fighting internal wars in her party.
“I think Jo is going to prove to be a wild card. People massively underestimate the effect that Jo is going to have in a general election campaign.”
Umunna dismissed suggestions that the new Revoke policy was undemocratic. “It would be undemocratic if, having been elected to stop Brexit, we didn’t do that,” he said.
Europe’s press has largely reported Boris Johnson’s visit to Luxembourg as a humiliation for the British prime minister. Our correspondent Jon Stone has this handy round-up.
The justice secretary Robert Buckland has failed to rule out a second bid to suspend parliament in October.
Asked whether it was remotely conceivable that Johnson could prorogue again, Buckland told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Harold Wilson said a week is a long time in politics, it seems like an hour is a long time in politics at the moment, and for me to sit here and imagine what might happen at the end of October, I think is idle.
“What I do know is if we are able to, we will have a Queen’s Speech in October, there will be debate during that time and a vote as well, perhaps a series of votes, and I think Parliament has already shown its power.”
Buckland earlier labelled the actions of Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel an “unfortunate media stunt”.
Shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti said Boris Johnson had been “using weasel words” about how much he respects judges – accusing him of leading “far-right” government.
Raising concerns on how the government will treat legislation designed to stop it forcing through no deal, she also told the Today programme: “Ministers in this Johnson government, bizarre dystopian universe have now indicated that they might not even abide by the terms of that legislation.
“We’ve seen briefing from No 10 that they might prorogue parliament a second time to avoid the enforcement of the Benn legislation or the scrutiny of the House of Commons, and that they’re thinking of other ways to avoid that legislation.”
Here’s our deputy political Rob Merrick, with more on the justice secretary’s latest remarks.
Our correspondent Ben Kentish will be reporting live from the Supreme Court this morning, with the huge case on the suspension of parliament set to begin at 10.30am.
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