Queen Approves Government Plan To Suspend Parliament

28 August 2019, 09:24 | Updated: 28 August 2019, 15:16

Boris Johnson was granted permission by Queen to suspend Parliament after MPs return from their summer break, restricting their ability to stop a no deal Brexit.

Boris Johnson's new government will hold a Queen's Speech on 14th October to lay out the plans for the weeks leading up to the Brexit deadline, According to the BBC.

The prime minister asked Her Majesty to suspend Parliament from 9th September - meaning any rebel MPs will lose valuable time to pass legislation to halt a no deal.

A No 10 source said: "It's time a new government and new PM set out a plan for the country after we leave the EU."

Mr Johnson earlier confirmed he wanted to suspend Parliament, but said it was "completely untrue" he was doing it because of Brexit and instead insisting that he has a new government with an "exciting agenda" that requires new legislation.

He claimed MPs would still have "ample time" to debate Brexit before the UK leaves and said he did not want to wait until after Brexit "before getting on with our plans to take this country forward."

The prime minster continued: "This is a new government with a very exciting agenda. We need new legislation. We've got to be bringing forward new and important bills and that's why we are going to have a Queen's Speech."

But Johnson's move has sparked fury among critics, with some claiming the idea of suspending down Parliament - known as prorogation - will stop MPs from being able to play their part in the Brexit process.

Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly downplayed the significance of the action, claiming the government was planning a Queen's Speech "just as all new governments do".

But Tory MP and Remain campaigner Dominic Grieve said: "This government will come down", and called it "an outrageous act".

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon called it a "dark day for democracy".

The First Minister of Scotland tweeted: "So it seems that Boris Johnson may actually be about to shut down Parliament to force through a no deal Brexit. Unless MPs come together to stop him next week, today will go down in history as a dark one indeed for UK democracy."

Liberal Democrat MP Chuka Umunna, who supports a second EU referendum, accused Mr Johnson of "behaving like a tin-pot dictator" by proroguing parliament.

According to reports, only a handful of government ministers were aware of the move before the announcement, meaning it is likely to cause some friction within the party.

George Parker, political editor of the Financial Times, told LBC: "This is yet another amazing development in the whole Brexit saga.

"What it appears to be is Boris Johnson is trying to close down the Parliamentary time available to rebels to stop a no-deal Brexit.

"He's going to have an extra-long recess in October after the party conference season ahead of the Queen's Speech so that loses a vital week for rebels to get their act together."

He added that it seems likely Parliament will return from their summer recess next week for around 10 days for rebels to "muster their forces and decide what to do."

He added the move shows how "adept" Mr Johnson and his top advisor Dominic Cummings have proven themselves to be at "constantly wrong footing their opponents."