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Sir John Major hints Parliament could bypass Boris Johnson and authorise someone else to ask Brussels to delay Brexit
SIR JOHN Major today hinted that Parliament could bypass the PM and authorise someone else to ask Brussels to delay Brexit.
He said Boris Johnson’s ‘prorogation’ had prevented MPs from passing legislation which could have charged “somebody other than the Prime Minister to communicate the United Kingdom’s intentions to the European Union”.
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‘Remain’ MPs last night conceded it could be an option if Parliament is recalled – given the looming Brexit deadline of October 31.
It came as the former Tory PM took the extraordinary step of panning Mr Johnson to the Supreme Court via a Europhile lawyer Lord Garnier.
In a bombshell written submission, he demanded judges wade in British politics by ruling on the issue of prorogation.
Lord Garnier signalled the Court should consider setting a precedent where prorogation is only allowed for a “short time” and never when Parliament faces a “looming deadline” – such as Brexit on October 31.
Lord Garnier insisted the intervention was “nothing to do with the arguments for or against Brexit”.
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But he said it was clear from the PM’s refusal to provide a written statement to the court that his “ulterior motive” was silencing Parliament over the issue.
In his submission, Sir John said letting off Mr Johnson – and his clear attempt to push through Brexit – would allow a future PM to “disband the Army”, run down public services to achieve a political goal.
And he drew reference to a previous case where an estate agent was slammed for hoodwinking a seller – by snapping up the property only to flog it for a bigger profit.
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Gina Miller and Sir John Major will appeal to High Court judges after failing to stop Boris shutting down Parliament
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