Government to face questions as MPs return to House of Commons

The Government is set to face awkward questions today as return to Westminster after the bombshell legal ruling that Boris Johnson's suspension of Parliament was unlawful.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives at Downing Street in London. Photo: PA Photo/Matt DunhamBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives at Downing Street in London. Photo: PA Photo/Matt Dunham
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives at Downing Street in London. Photo: PA Photo/Matt Dunham

The Prime Minister will fly back into a political storm with demands for his resignation from furious opposition parties, determined to hold him to account over his Brexit plans.

Although Prime Minister's Questions will not be held, Joanna Cherry MP will ask Geoffrey Cox to make a statement on his legal opinion on the advice given to the Queen. Leaked documents showed he had advised the Government that prorogation was lawful.

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And Layla Moran MP will question payments made to Hacker House, which was founded by American model and businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri.

Ms Arcuri's relationship with Boris Johnson was questioned newspaper investigation over the allocation of public money to the technology entrepreneur.

Statements will be made on Thomas Cook by Grant Schapps, on Brexit preparations by Michael Gove, on Iran by Dominic Raab, and finally Boris Johnson will give a statement on the Supreme Court ruling.

Downing Street insisted there was no question Mr Johnson standing aside this morning, despite the Supreme Court ruling yesterday there was no "reasonable justification" for his advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament for five weeks.

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Earlier, the Prime Minister insisted he would not be deterred from taking Britain out of the EU on October 31.

While he said he had the "utmost respect" for the judiciary and would abide by the court's ruling, he nevertheless said he "strongly disagreed" with its decision.

He also issued a warning to pro-Remain MPs not to try to "frustrate" the will of the people by blocking Brexit.

Commons Speaker John Bercow announced yesterday MPs would resume sitting at 11.30am today.

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Although there will be no Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Bercow said there would be "full scope" for urgent questions, ministerial statements and applications for emergency debates which MPs have used to seize control of the Commons timetable from the Government.

Shadow cabinet office minister and Hemsworth MP Jon Trickett indicated they would be seeking to bring Mr Johnson to the Commons chamber to account for his actions.

"We want to hear what legal advice he was acting on, why he ended up in court and being ruled in this quite extraordinary way," he said.

"As the debate goes on and we hear the answers, clearly we will be wondering and making decisions on how to proceed next."

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Mr Rees-Mogg will set out the business for the week on Wednesday, a Government source said.

Mr Johnson is due to give a statement on the Supreme Court ruling later, meanwhile has said he still wants to go ahead with a new Queen's Speech setting out the Government's legislative programme - his stated reason for seeking a prorogation.

His comments suggest that he could potentially seek another prorogation - something he has not ruled out.

Opposition MPs are likely to use the resumed sittings to try to ensure Mr Johnson cannot take Britain out of the EU without a deal at the end of October.

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The Prime Minister has insisted he will not seek another Brexit delay, despite the passing of the so-called Benn Act, requiring him to seek a further extension from the EU if he cannot get a new agreement.