Brexit: Boris Johnson suspending parliament to force no-deal would be 'gravest abuse of power in living memory', Labour legal advice says

Shadow attorney general says attempt to prorogue parliament to stop MPs blocking no-deal would likely be thrown out by courts

Boris Johnson suspending parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit would be the “gravest abuse of power and attack on UK constitutional principle in living memory", according to expert legal advice drawn up by Labour.

Shami Chakrabarti, the shadow attorney general, said any attempt to prorogue parliament to stop MPs blocking no-deal faced being overruled by the courts.

In a six-page document prepared for Jeremy Corbyn, Baroness Chakrabarti said it was "heartening" that a bid to stop the Commons sitting would likely be blocked.

Mr Johnson has repeatedly refused to rule out prorogation if MPs try to stop him taking the UK out of the EU without a deal.

Baroness Chakrabarti, a barrister, said prorogation would likely face a legal challenge and the courts “might well even grant interim injunctive relief in order to allow both houses of parliament to continue to sit and discharge their primary and sovereign constitutional role in this current moment of national crisis”.

She wrote: “Whilst it is alarming that lawyers for either Her Majesty’s government or opposition should have even to consider such a scenario in our cherished mature democracy, it is equally heartening that we may rely on our courts to protect it.

“I have no hesitation in advising that any such attempted administrative action by the government would constitute the gravest abuse of power and attack upon UK constitutional principle in living memory.”

Her advice, obtained by The Guardian, appeared to contradict the leaked legal opinion of Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, that suggested proroguing parliament from 9 September until shortly before the Brexit deadline of 31 October would be lawful.

Speaking at the end of the G7 summit in Biarritz on Monday, Mr Johnson again refused to rule out a temporary suspension of parliament.

He said: “I think that this [is] really a matter for parliamentarians to get right ourselves.

“We asked the people to vote on whether they wanted to stay in or leave the EU; they voted to leave by a big majority."

He added: “I rely on parliamentarians to do the right thing and honour the pledge that they made to the people of this country.”

Opposition party leaders will meet on Tuesday to discuss how best to stop the government pursuing a no-deal Brexit, if Mr Johnson is unable to negotiate a new exit agreement with the EU.