‘The father of lies has shut mother of parliaments’
BORIS Johnson’s Brexit strategy has seen “the mother of parliaments closed down by the father of lies”, the Supreme Court heard yesterday.
The attack came amid the Government’s appeal against a ruling that the PM’s prorogation is unlawful.
Aidan O’Neill QC, for MPs and peers who won the case in Edinburgh, said: “Stand up for truth, for reason, for diversity, for Parliament, for democracy by dismissing this Government appeal and upholding a constitution governed by laws, not the passing whims of men.
“What we have with prorogation is the mother of parliaments closed down by the father of lies.”
Mr Johnson asked the Queen to shut Parliament from September 9 to October 14, claiming it was standard to hold a Queen’s Speech.
UNWORTHY
But questioning his motives, Mr O’Neill said: “This Government has shown itself unworthy of our trust.”
It came after Government lawyers insisted the PM did not advise the Queen approve the move for any “improper purpose”. Sir James Eadie said the suggestion that the aim was to “stymie” MPs was untenable.
And he argued the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to rule on the legality of the length of prorogation.
Meanwhile, EU chiefs warned there is still a “palpable” risk of no-deal Brexit, the main issue still being the PM’s insistence on scrapping the Irish backstop. Jean-Claude Juncker said he had “no emotional attachment to the safety net” but he stood by “the objectives it is designed to achieve”.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier added the bloc still needs to hear more about replacement options.
And Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suffered a backlash from his own party after suggesting he would remain neutral during any second referendum, doing what the majority demanded in a bid to balance the views of Leavebacking voters and the party members.