Boris Johnson entered the lion’s den of Parliament flanked by maverick aide Dominic Cummings tonight as he braces for a controntation with MPs.
The PM is running the gauntlet of the House of Commons this evening in the wake of the bombshell Supreme Court judgement over his illegal prorogation.
But Mr Johnson is expected to try to regain the initiative by heaping pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to agree to an election.
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox told MPs earlier that a motion would be tabled ‘soon’ on holding an early election.
That could be a third attempt to force an early poll under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act – which requires a two-thirds majority in the Commons.
However, Mr Cox suggested ministers are also considering tabling a one-line piece of legislation explicitly stating the date for an election. That could help win over Remainers who fear Mr Johnson will try to delay the schedule once they approve an election.
There had been rumours a vote could be called as early as tomorrow, but the prospect appears to have receded tonight.
Both routes look almost certain to fail, after Mr Corbyn insisted an election should not happen until a Brexit delay has been confirmed.
‘Our priority is to prevent a No Deal exit from the EU on the 31st of October,’ he said. ‘I am very happy to have an election when we have taken No Deal off the table and the EU has agreed to an extension.’
The refusal – which effectively pushes back an election until November or even December – comes as Remainers take control following the dramatic intervention by judges who declared prorogation illegal, threatening to throw the government’s plans into total chaos.
Boris Johnson entered the lion’s den of Parliament flanked by maverick aide Dominic Cummings (second from left) tonight as he braces for a controntation with MPs
Boris Johnson is back in Downing Street today after hot-footing it from the UN – and will run the gauntlet of MP anger this evening
A triumphant Mr Bercow told MPs ‘welcome back to our place of work’ as the House started sitting again in the wake of the dramatic Supreme Court ruling
Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in the Commons today) has insisted that a poll must not be triggered until the Brexit deadline has been pushed back beyond October 31
MPs are plotting to use the time to bind the premier’s hands and ensure he cannot push through No Deal to keep his ‘do or die’ promise to leave the EU by Halloween.
There are expected to be moves to force the publication of full legal advice on suspending Parliament, and could even be contempt proceedings against the PM personally.
But as the row raged today, Brexit minister Michael Gove dismissed suggestions that the government needed to apologise.
Mr Johnson will run the gauntlet of Parliament this evening – after a series of other statements by ministers.
The PM’s plane touched down in the UK today after he cut short his trip to New York in the wake of the dramatic Supreme Court ruling
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured left leaving his London home today) made clear he will not let the PM go to the country for a new mandate until the Brexit deadline has been delayed. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox (right) faces an urgent question on his legal advice over prorogation
As the row raged, Brexit minister Michael Gove (pictured today) dismissed suggestions that the government needed to apologise
Making his own appearance before MPs, Mr Cox dismissed calls to quit over his advice that prorogation was legal – and raged that Parliament is ‘immorally’ blocking an election.
The Attorney General ridiculed claims that he should quit after his view was rejected by the UK’s most senior judges yesterday.
He told MPs that the Supreme Court had ‘made new law’ – something he said it was ‘perfectly entitled’ to do.
Mr Cox seemed to suggest that ministers have given up on trying to find loopholes in the Benn Act, which requires the PM to beg the EU for a Brexit extension if an agreement is not in place by October 19.
Asked if the government would abide by the Remainer law, he replied: ‘Yes.’
Mr Cox was also embroiled in brutal clashes with former Tory minister Philip Lee, who defected to the Lib Dems in protest at Brexit policy. When Dr Lee urged him to show ‘humility’, Mr Cox shot back that having refused to call a by-election when he switched parties the MP should be ‘on his knees’ begging forgiveness from constituents.
Reconvening the House earlier, Speaker John Bercow gloated that Mr Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament had been ‘expunged’ by the bombshell Supreme Court ruling.
Telling MPs ‘welcome back to our place of work’, he spelled out that the suspension triggered by the PM earlier this month had been made void – as legally it never happened.
Earlier, Brexit minister Michael Gove was defiant as he made clear he did not agree with the judgement – although the government will abide by it.
‘I don’t think the government should apologise for having a strong domestic agenda,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘I don’t think we should apologise for trying to advance our exit from the EU.’
He added: ‘I think it’s important to stress that while the Supreme Court was clear, there is a respectable legal opinion that disagrees with that view.
‘It’s perfectly possible in a democracy to say you respect a judgment and will comply with the judgment, but you also note that there are a range of views about the appropriateness of a particular course of action.’
Speaking on the same programme later, Mr Corbyn denied that he was running scared of an election because of his dire popularity ratings – which are the lowest ever for an opposition leader at minus 60.
‘Until it is very clear that the application will be made, per the legislation, to the EU to extend our membership to at least January, then we will continue pushing for that and that is our priority,’ Mr Corbyn said.
He added: ‘When that has been achieved we will then be ready with a motion of no confidence.’
The veteran left-winger said Mr Johnson had ‘abused the power he has in the royal prerogative and attempted to close down Parliament’.
‘I think he should apologise to (the Queen) for the advice he gave her but, more importantly, apologise to the British people for what he’s done in trying to shut down our democracy at a very crucial time when people are very, very worried about what will happen on October 31,’ he added.
In a vindictive step, Mr Corbyn confirmed Labour will not grant the Conservatives a Commons recess so the party can hold its conference – due to get under way in Manchester on Sunday.
‘I won’t support anything that shuts down parliament until it is absolutely clear that the government will abide by the law and apply for an extension,’ Mr Corbyn said.
A No10 source took a similarly hard line last night, suggesting the court had ‘made a serious mistake in extending its reach to these political matters’.
‘Further, the Supreme Court has made it clear that its reasons are connected to the parliamentary disputes over, and timetable for, leaving the European Union. We think this is a further serious mistake,’ they told the BBC.
Mr Johnson accused the court of siding with Remain campaigners to ‘frustrate Brexit’, although he was careful to say that he ‘respected’ the court’s judgment.
But Amber Rudd, who quit the Cabinet over Mr Johnson’s hardline approach to Brexit, said it was irresponsible for the Government to claim the ruling was ‘all about people trying to frustrate Brexit’ when the Government’s defence was that ‘prorogation had nothing to do with Brexit’.
Sir Nicholas Soames, a rebel Tory thrown out by Mr Johnson, said: ‘Boris has learned the hard way: be ye ever so high you are not above the law.’
The backlash led Justice Secretary Robert Buckland to issue a warning to the Cabinet against questioning the impartiality of the judiciary.
Parliament will now be recalled today, with Mr Johnson forced to cut short his visit to the UN general assembly in New York where he was holding talks with world leaders. Ministers were last night weighing up the possibility of using the recall to make another bid to force an election.
Mr Johnson said that, with Parliament gridlocked, an election was now ‘the obvious thing to do’. Ministers however fear they do not have the numbers to win a Commons vote on the issue.
Pro-Remain MPs last night indicated they would exploit the judgment by forcing a series of votes designed to embarrass the Government.
Speaker John Bercow (left) gloated that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament has been ‘expunged’ today as the Commons reopened. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox (right) has been defending his legal advice
Yesterday’s court ruling was the final blow to Mr Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks.
In a defiant response, the Prime Minister brushed aside opposition calls to resign and appeared to suggest the court had political motives.
Speaking in New York he said it was ‘perfectly normal’ for a government to prorogue Parliament in order to hold a Queen’s speech, which he had planned to stage on October 14.
He added: ‘Let’s be in no doubt, there are a lot of people who want to frustrate Brexit. There are a lot of people who want to stop this country coming out of the EU.’
The Prime Minister said that he had the ‘highest respect’ for the judiciary, but added: ‘I strongly disagree with this judgment.’
Supreme Court president Baroness Hale said that with the prorogation eating up five of the eight weeks of possible parliamentary time before Britain left the EU, ‘the effect on the fundamentals of democracy was extreme’.
She added: ‘No justification for taking action with such an extreme effect has been put before the court.’
Delivering the unanimous verdict of 11 of the UK’s most senior judges, she said: ‘The decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions.’