Civil disobedience and strikes threatened in mass Brexit protests

Left Remain group Another Europe Is Possible, which predicted the demonstrations will bring hundreds of thousands on to the streets across the country have said "mass civil disobedience and disruption are on the cards".

And more than a hundred trade unionists have signed a statement calling for radical action to defeat the Prime Minister's plans, stating: “We believe our unions, the Labour Party, and the whole working-class movement must urgently mobilise direct action, including protests, strikes, and occupations, in opposition to this development.”

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The rallying call came as a petition calling for a stop to the Tory leader’s proroguing of parliament headed towards 2 million signatures last night as the UK’s political crisis spilled over with anger.

The suspension of parliament, known as prorogation will start just days after MPs return on Tuesday to Parliament after their summer recess. The new parliamentary session will begin on October 14, just 17 days before the UK is due to exit the EU.

Critics believe the temporary suspension is intended to thwart MPs efforts to block the UK from crashing out of the European Union with no deal on October 31.

Momentum’s Laura Parker (above), the group’s national coordinator, said she will join an “occupation of Parliament” as she urged followers to “protest, occupy and blockade” at demonstrations set to be held in cities across the UK on Saturday.

She said: “Our message to Johnson is this: if you steal our democracy, we’ll shut down the streets.”

READ MORE: Edinburgh is Scottish hotspot as 1250 a minute support anti-proroguing petition

Mr Corbyn and other politicians including MP Paul Sweeney, Scottish Labour MSP Richard Leonard and others are expected to address crowds again in Springburn on Saturday as Stop the Coup protests are held in Glasgow's George Square, Aberdeen, Dundee, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield and York. They are all expected to inspire copycat events.

A further mass demonstration in London next Tuesday when parliament returns..

Michael Chessum, national organiser for Another Europe is Possible, said: "The crowds are angry, energetic and hopeful, and are taking matters into their own hands. We aren’t here to ask Boris nicely, we’re here to force him to back down. That means civil disobedience and being willing to disrupt things.”

More than 10,000 people have also signed a pledge which states: “If the government tries to drive No Deal through by stopping parliament from sitting, we cannot just rely on the courts and parliamentary process. We need a massive movement of resistance, with marches, civil disobedience and protests in every corner of the country.”

READ MORE: MPs seek emergency court ruling to stop Boris Johnson proroguing parliament

Yesterday a collective of MPs went to the Court of Session in a bid to thwart the Prime Minister's move claming it was "unlawful and unconstitutional". Lord Doherty, presiding over the hearing, said he would consider the issue over night and give his ruling at 10am today.

And next week, rebel MPs are also planning to force parliament to sit through next weekend in emergency bid to carve out more time to block Mr Johnson from ramming through no-deal Brexit.

Yesterday thousands took part in impromptu emergency protests taking place in Leeds, Brighton and outside Westminster in advance of the direct action plans of the weekend.

Momentum backers were urged to “occupy bridges and blockade roads” to protest Mr Johnson's plan to shut down Parliament.

Ms Parker said: “Eton-educated, millionaire Boris Johnson is stealing our democracy so he can sell off our NHS to big US corporations in a no-deal, Trump-first Brexit.

"This is an establishment coup by a tiny, privileged elite who have been eroding our democracy for decades.

"Real power doesn’t sit with the Queen or in parliament. It’s with us, the people – and that’s why we need to take action.

"There are thousands of us who will join an occupation of parliament and block the roads before we let Johnson close the doors on democracy.

"Today we’re going to contact all Momentum supporters and encourage them to protest, occupy and blockade on Saturday.”

But Conservatives criticised the Momentum protests, with Monmouth MP David Davies saying: ""Momentum seem to think that no one should do anything without their permission - and they're going to block the streets if they don't get their way.

READ MORE: How Scottish leaders reacted to Boris Johnson's plan to prorogue

"And it's ironic that they are complaining about Parliament being shut down while they are stopping anyone from getting there at all."

Jeremy Corbyn said parliament will “legislate rapidly” on Tuesday, when it resumes, to prevent Boris Johnson from suspending parliament and to stop a no-deal Brexit.

He said on a visit to Scotland: "We’re going to try and politically stop him on Tuesday with a Parliamentary process to legislate to prevent a No Deal Brexit, and prevent him from shutting down Parliament during this critical period.

"We believe we can do it, otherwise we wouldn't be trying to do it."

But Tory HQ condemned what it branded Mr Corbyn’s “calls for disorder”.

Paul Scully, the Deputy Tory Chairman, commented: “This shows the lengths Jeremy Corbyn and his hard-left supporters will go in their attempts to undermine the democratic decision of the British people to leave the EU.

“Labour’s repeated promises to respect the result of the referendum have been exposed as a sham, it’s clear they’re only interested in cancelling the referendum result.”

Earlier in a joint statement, opposition party leaders condemned the “undemocratic actions” of Mr Johnson and said: "There is a majority in the House of Commons that does not support this prorogation and we demand the Prime Minister reverses this decision immediately or allows MPs to vote on whether there should be one."