The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Court battles loom as PM refuses to ‘accept’ delay
Rudd quits over concerns, Cabinet figures say law will be obeyed
Westminster is on resignation watch after reports Boris Johnson is setting himself up for an explosive Supreme Court battle over a no-deal Brexit.
A law drafted by Opposition figures demanding the Brexit deadline is extended to January to avoid Britain leaving the European Union without a deal is expected to receive Royal Assent this week.
But the prime minister is threatening to push ahead with his plan to keep no-deal on the table when he meets fellow leaders at the European Council summit on October 17.
He has said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than ask the EU for an extension beyond Halloween, and told The Mail On Sunday: “I refuse to accept (Jeremy) Corbyn’s pointless delay.”
His stance has led to speculation that more front bench ministers could walk out on the government.
Amber Rudd sensationally quit the Cabinet and the Tory Party on Saturday, citing concerns over Mr Johnson’s approach to the Brexit negotiations.
The former work and pensions secretary told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that “not enough work is going into actually getting a deal”.
The Sunday Times reported that the principle plan for Mr Johnson and his chief strategist Dominic Cummings is to force an explosive showdown at the Supreme Court that could even see him risk a jail sentence to deliver on his pledge to leave the EU by October 31.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “We’re always going to behave lawfully as a government, of course you’d expect that, and anyway it will be challenged in the courts, but what we are going to do with that legislation is test very carefully what it does and doesn’t require...”
Chancellor Sajid Javid told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “Of course this government will obey the law. We are going to continue to work towards exit on October 31.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is due to hear Gina Miller and ex-PM John Major’s appeal against the decision to prorogue Parliament for almost five weeks. The Commons and Lords are set to shut until October 14 if MPs opt not to vote for a snap general election today.
The country’s judges will hear the case on September 17, after prorogation has started, along with an appeal from a similar case in the Scottish Court of Session.