UK top court rules suspension of Parliament illegal

LONDON (AP) — In a major blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Britain’s highest court ruled Tuesday that his decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks in the crucial countdown to the country’s Brexit deadline was illegal.

The unanimous, strongly worded Supreme Court judgment declared his order to suspend Parliament “void and of no effect.” 

The court found that Johnson acted to limit debate by lawmakers on Britain’s impending departure from the European Union in violation of Parliament’s constitutional role.

The landmark decision was quickly criticized by Johnson and prompted calls for him to quit from opposition leaders.

The Conservative prime minister and Parliament have been at odds since he took power in July with the determination to take Britain out of the EU on October 31 with or without a divorce deal.

“I strongly disagree with this decision of the Supreme Court. I have the upmost respect for our judiciary, I don’t think this was the right decision,” Johnson said in New York, where he was attending the U.N. General Assembly.

 “I think that the prorogation (suspension of Parliament) has been used for centuries without this kind of challenge.”

Johnson did not rule out trying to suspend Parliament again.

“As the law currently stands, the U.K. leaves the EU on Oct. 31 come what may, but the exciting thing for us now is to get a good deal. And that is what we are working on,” Johnson said. “And to be honest, it is not made much easier by this kind of stuff in Parliament or in the courts.”

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow welcomed the historic verdict and said Parliament would resume its business Wednesday morning.