THE Supreme Court will issue its historic ruling over the legality of the five-week suspension of Parliament this morning.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been accused of an unlawful “abuse of power”, will be in the United States when the Supreme Court announces its findings at 10.30am.
Eleven justices have been asked to determine whether his advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament from September 9 until October 14 was unlawful.
Johnson says the five-week suspension is to allow the Government to set out a new legislative agenda in a Queen’s Speech when MPs return.
But those who brought legal challenges argue the prorogation is designed to prevent parliamentary scrutiny of the UK’s impending exit from the EU on October 31.
The Supreme Court heard appeals over three days arising out of separate legal challenges in England and Scotland.
While the High Court in London ruled in favour of Johnson, in Scotland a cross-party group of MPs and peers led by SNP MP Joanna Cherry QC won a ruling from the Inner House of the Court of Session that Johnson’s prorogation decision was unlawful because it was “motivated by the improper purpose of stymieing Parliament”.
Ahead of today’s ruling, Cherry said: “We are in unprecedented constitutional territory and today’s ruling at the Supreme Court over whether or not the Prime Minister’s decision to prorogue Parliament was lawful encapsulates the chaos that continues to consume this Tory Government.”
Depending on the legal basis upon which the judges reach their conclusions, Parliament may have to reconvene if Johnson, who has refused to rule out a second suspension, loses the case.
Documents submitted to the court revealed three possible scenarios in the event the court rules the suspension was unlawful, two of which could see Johnson again prorogue Parliament.
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