Court bids launched to stop Johnson suspending UK parliament

LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson´s suspension of parliament just weeks before Britain´s EU departure date faced legal challenges on Thursday following a furious outcry from pro-Europeans and MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit.Johnson announced the surprise decision Wednesday to dismiss parliament — known as proroguing — next month for nearly five weeks, claiming it was necessary to allow him to press reset and pursue a “bold and ambitious” new post-Brexit domestic agenda.But the move sent shockwaves through the British political system, which relies on centuries of precedents and conventions instead of a codified constitution. In a blow for Johnson, popular Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson stepped down after eight years during which she has revived her party´s fortunes.Davidson, who supported staying in the EU, urged Johnson to clinch a deal with Brussels and mentioned the “conflict I have felt over Brexit” in her resignation letter. Johnson´s opponents have labelled the suspension of parliament a “coup” and a “constitutional outrage”.The move prompted immediate court bids in London, Edinburgh and Belfast to halt the process. Gina Miller, a businesswoman and leading anti-Brexit campaigner, has applied for an urgent judicial review in London challenging “the effect and the intention” of the suspension. “We think that this request is illegal,” said Miller, who in 2017 successfully won MPs the right to vote on formally starting to leave the EU in a court challenge.

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