British MPs return to parliament on Wednesday following a momentous Supreme Court ruling that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament was unlawful.
The judgement has dented Johnson’s authority, prompting calls for his resignation and casting further doubt on his promise to pull Britain out of the EU on October 31, come what may.
The Conservative leader was due to arrive back from New York, heading straight into a political maelstrom triggered by Tuesday’s damning court ruling that his decision to suspend parliament for five weeks was unlawful.
Britain’s right-wing tabloids reacted angrily to the ruling, with The Sun saying it had been bombarded with letters from readers expressing “fury”.
The Daily Telegraph said Johnson was “seen as the champion of the people against an establishment determined to stop Brexit”, while for the Daily Mail, “The real political vandals are the out of touch MPs blocking Brexit”.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, announced that MPs would reconvene at 11.30 am (1030 GMT) on Wednesday, while the upper House of Lords said it would return later the same day.
Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn called on Johnson to resign but said he would not call a no confidence vote in parliament until the possibility of a no-deal Brexit had been eliminated.
“Our first priority is to prevent a no-deal exit from the European Union on October 31,” Corbyn told BBC radio.
Bercow said there would be no Prime Minister’s Questions — a weekly session held on Wednesdays — but there would be “full scope for urgent questions, for ministerial statements, and for applications for emergency debates”.
Cabinet member Michael Gove said the government would outline its next steps in parliament later on Wednesday.
“I don’t think that the government should apologise for having a strong domestic agenda. I don’t think we should apologise also for seeking to advance our exit from the European Union,” Gove told the BBC.
