Send Boris to prison if he ignores court ruling, say critics

BORIS Johnson has been given seven days to respond to a fresh bid to force him to delay Brexit.

Nationalist MP Joanna Cherry, tax barrister Jo Maugham and businessman Dale Vince have launched a new action at the Court of Session, Scotland’s highest civil court.

They want judges to force Mr Johnson to send a letter to Brussels asking for an extension to Article 50. If he refuses, they say the court should send the letter on his behalf.

They even claim he should face the threat of jail if the court demands action and he refuses to carry it out.

It comes just days after Lord Menzies, Lord Brodie and Lord Drummond Young ruled that the decision to suspend Parliament was illegal.

The judges yesterday gave the Prime Minister seven days to respond to the petition.

It also follows the passing of legislation, brought by Labour MP Hillary Benn, that makes it illegal for the UK Government to pursue a No Deal Brexit.

The petitioners have raised the action in Scotland because the Inner House, Scotland’s highest civil appeal court, has powers which are unavailable to their English counterparts. So-called nobile officium would allow it to sign a letter requesting an extension to Article 50 if Mr Johnson refused to do so.

During the brief hearing, at which Mr Johnson was not represented, Aidan O’Neill, QC, said his clients wanted to give the Prime Minister seven days to lodge answers to the petition.

He said the court needed to hear the petition quickly because the UK was scheduled to leave the EU by the end of next month.

Mr O’Neill also told the court that after the Prime Minister’s answers were lodged, the actual hearing would take a day to present to the court.

The judges then allowed the matter to progress.