Leading judges are today expected to announce their decision on the latest legal attack brought against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks.
Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and two other judges at the High Court in London have been urged to find that Mr Johnson’s August 28 advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament for an “exceptional” length of time was an “unlawful abuse of power”.
After hearing submissions yesterday on an urgent judicial review application brought by businesswoman Gina Miller, Lord Burnett said the hearing would be adjourned until 10am today. He said: “If we are able to do so we will announce our decision, but the written reasons will follow as soon as we are able to prepare them.”
The case brought by Ms Miller, who successfully challenged the Government at the High Court in 2016 over the triggering of the Article 50 process to start the Brexit countdown, is supported by other parties, including former prime minister Sir John Major.
The action was contested by the Prime Minister, whose lawyer argued that the advice given to the Queen was not unlawful and that, in any event, Ms Miller’s claim was “academic”.
Lord Pannick QC, representing Ms Miller, told the packed court: “Our case is that the Prime Minister’s advice to Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament for a period
of five weeks is an unlawful abuse of power.”
He said: “There is no justification for closing Parliament in this way and, accordingly, it represents an unjustified undermining of parliamentary sovereignty which is the bedrock of our constitution.”
The hearing in London came as three judges at the Inner House of the Court of Session in Edinburgh ordered the release of letters and notes referring to the controversial suspension of Parliament ahead of the Brexit deadline.
The release of the documents – including a handwritten note from the PM insisting there was nothing “especially shocking” about the move – was opposed by lawyers acting for the UK Government.
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