- Boris Johnson’s suspension of the UK Parliament is unlawful, Scotland’s highest civil court has ruled.
Boris Johnson’s suspension of the UK Parliament is unlawful, Scotland’s highest civil court has ruled.
A panel of three judges at the Court of Session found in favour of a cross-party group of politicians who were challenging the prime minister’s move.
The decision overturns an earlier ruling from the court, which said last week Mr Johnson had not broken the law.
But it will not immediately affect the current suspension of Parliament, which started in the early hours of Tuesday.
This is because no order has been given by the court to cancel the suspension ahead of a full hearing at the Supreme Court in London which starts on Tuesday of next week.
In a summary of their findings, the Court of Session judges said they were unanimous in their belief that Mr Johnson’s decision to suspend was motivated by the “improper purpose of stymying Parliament”.
They added: “The Court will accordingly make an Order declaring that the Prime Minister’s advice to HM the Queen and the prorogation which followed thereon was unlawful and is thus null and of no effect.”
Their full judgment will be released on Friday.
MPs are not currently due to return to Parliament until 14 October, when there will be a Queen’s Speech outlining Mr Johnson’s legislative plans. The UK is due to leave the EU on 31 October.
