Campaigners are expected to lodge an appeal after a judge dismissed a legal action aimed at forcing the Prime Minister to request a Brexit extension if no withdrawal deal is secured with the EU by October 19.
The Outer House of the Court of Session in Edinburgh refused the order sought by SNP MP Joanna Cherry QC and others in a judgment on Monday.
Lord Pentland ruled it was not necessary to compel Mr Johnson to comply with the terms of the so-called Benn Act given the “unequivocal assurances” of Boris Johnson and the Government made before the court.
Ms Cherry, businessman Dale Vince, and Jolyon Maugham QC launched the legal action over fears Mr Johnson would attempt to thwart the Act passed by MPs last month.
READ MORE: Tories told they should be panicking over independence
The court’s Inner House is expected to hear an appeal on Tuesday.
Ms Cherry said: “We have forced the Tory government to concede that the Prime Minister will comply with the law, and promise to send a letter requesting a Brexit extension and not frustrate the purpose of the Benn Act.
“However, given Boris Johnson’s slippery track record of acting unlawfully, and the contradictory statements issued by the UK government – we do not trust the Tory leader or believe he can be taken at his word to obey the letter and spirit of the law.
“As such, we will appeal the decision, and expect that appeal to be heard on Tuesday.”
The Inner House is also expected to hear a request by the campaigners that Scottish judges use the unique power of “nobile officium” to empower a court official to sign the extension letter if the Prime Minister refuses to do so.
READ MORE: Leaked papers show EU leaders giving short shrift to Boris Johnson's Brexit proposals
Documents submitted to the court on behalf of the Prime Minister on Friday revealed he accepted he must send the letter requesting an extension to the Brexit deadline under the terms set out in the legislation.
Mr Maugham said: “On Tuesday the Inner House will consider whether or not, if the Prime Minister refuses to do what he has told the court that he will do, the court can sign the letter for the Prime Minister, the letter mandated by the Benn Act.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel