Stay neutral, judges told

Britain

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned the United Kingdom’s most senior judges that the courts have ‘‘no jurisdiction’’ over his decision to suspend parliament, and that they risk ‘‘entering the political arena’’.

The Supreme Court began yesterday to hear two appeals relating to the five-week prorogation of parliament, which Scotland’s highest civil court has ruled was an unlawful attempt to dodge MPS’ scrutiny of Brexit.

Accusing the Scottish judges of having a ‘‘fundamental misconception’’ of how parliament operated, Johnson’s submission said it would be ‘‘constitutionally inappropriate’’ for the judiciary to intervene.

The UK’S highest court is attempting to resolve two contradictory appeals. The first, by lawyers for businesswoman Gina Miller, is against a ruling by the High Court of England and Wales that Johnson was entitled to prorogue parliament. The second, by the government, is against the Court of Session in Edinburgh, which found the opposite.

Lord Pannick, QC, representing Miller, said the government was trying to ‘‘silence’’ parliament, and that the decision to prorogue represented the biggest abuse of power by a prime minister for 50 years.

Former prime minister Sir John Major was to make an extraordinary intervention today challenging the prorogation.

Johnson has prorogued parliament for five weeks from September 9 through to a Queen’s Speech due on October 14. Lord Keen of Elie, the advocate-general for Scotland, and Robert Buckland, the lord chancellor, have refused to rule out a second prorogation if the Supreme Court upholds the Scottish ruling.

A crowd of about 40 protesters gathered outside the court in London. Broadcaster David Dimbleby, who was interviewing for a BBC documentary some of those waiting to get into the hearing, said: ‘‘I lived through Suez, the miners’ strike, I lived through the poll tax debate and the trouble then. I lived through the Iraq demonstrations – I’ve never seen the country so divided as this.

‘‘The next six weeks are clearly critical. I’ve never known the country so seriously riven by argument.’’ – The Times