Boris Johnson denies lying to Queen over Parliament suspension

James Morris12 September 2019
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Boris Johnson has denied lying to the Queen over the suspension of Parliament.

The Prime Minister said "absolutely not" when asked whether he lied to the monarch.

It comes after the Court of Session in Edinburgh said advice given by ministers to the Queen which led to the five-week prorogation was "unlawful because it had the purpose of stymying Parliament".

The government has lodged an appeal against the ruling, to be heard at the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Boris Johnson pictured on the River Thames in London on Thursday as he visited NLV Pharos
Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Mr Johnson has been accused of suspending Parliament until mid-October in order to avoid the scrutiny of MPs ahead of the October 31 Brexit deadline - but insists prorogation is necessary to plot his domestic legislative agenda.

Speaking on a visit to the River Thames in London on Thursday, Mr Johnson went on: "The High Court in England plainly agrees with us [on Wednesday, it ruled his decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks was "not a matter for the courts"] but the Supreme Court will have to decide.

"We need a Queen's Speech, we need to get on and do all sorts of things at a national level."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson - In pictures

PMQ session in London
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But the Prime Minister said he would not “quarrel or criticise” the judges in the Edinburgh court case as he insisted they are independent.

He said: “The British judiciary, the United Kingdom judiciary, is one of the great glories of our constitution – they are independent.

“Believe me, around the world people look at our judges with awe and admiration, so I’m not going to quarrel or criticise the judges.

“Clearly there are two different legal views – the High Court in England had a very different opinion and the Supreme Court will have to adjudicate in the course of the next few days, and I think it’s proper for politicians to let them get on and do that.”

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, asked on Sky News if he thought Mr Johnson lied to the Queen, said: "I can't tell. I think what we need to do is have all the information openly and transparently published to enable us to determine that.

"To be honest, I have little trust in Boris Johnson, particularly with this track record of having a relatively passive relationship with the truth at times."

The Prime Minister's latest comments came shortly before a legal challenge in Belfast High Court - arguing the government's Brexit strategy will damage the Northern Ireland peace process - was dismissed.

Mr Johnson had also downplayed the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit following the release of the "worst-case scenario" Operation Yellowhammer assessments, and reiterated he is hopeful of agreeing a Brexit deal.

"It is very important to understand what this document is," he said. "This is a worst-case scenario which civil servants obviously have to prepare for, but in the last few months, and particularly in the 50 days since I've been Prime Minister, we've been massively accelerating our preparations.

"We're trying to get a deal and I'm very hopeful that we will get a deal with our European friends on October 17 or 18 or thereabouts.

"But if we have to come out on October 31 with no-deal we will be ready and the ports will be ready and the farming communities will be ready, and all the industries that matter will be ready for a no-deal Brexit."

He insisted: "What you're looking at here is just the sensible preparations - the worst-case scenario - that you'd expect any government to do.

"In reality we will certainly be ready for a no-deal Brexit if we have to do it and I stress again that's not where we intend to end up."

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