Legal bid to stop Boris Johnson suspending parliament begins in Edinburgh

A legal bid to stop Boris Johnson forcing through a no deal Brexit by shutting down the UK parliament will begin in the Court of Session in Edinburgh today.

The case is backed by more than 70 MPs and peers, arguing the suspending parliament to make the UK leave the EU without a deal is "unlawful and unconstitutional".

Jolyon Maugham QC, director of the Good Law Project, which is supporting the latest challenge, said: "A man with no mandate seeks to cancel Parliament for fear it will stop him inflicting on an unwilling public an outcome they did not vote for and do not want.

"That's certainly not democracy and I expect our courts to say it's not the law."

With a majority of MPs opposed to the UK leaving the EU without a deal, amid concerns over economic damage and potential food and medicine shortages, Johnson has suggested he would be willing to prorogue parliament in order to achieve a no deal Brexit.

The case involves the same group of pro-EU politicians who won a case at the European Court of Justice, with the court ruling the UK can revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU without the permission of the other 27 EU members.

Labour MP Ian Murray said: “When Boris Johnson unveiled his vacuous slogan ‘taking back control’, voters weren’t told that this could mean shutting down Parliament.

“The Prime Minister’s undemocratic proposal to hold Westminster in contempt simply can’t go unchallenged.

“On behalf of voters across the UK, this cross-party legal challenge aims to prevent him riding roughshod over British democracy.

“A no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for Scotland and the UK, and voters deserve a final say on whether they want to keep the best deal we have and remain in the EU.”