Prorogation plan was secret for two weeks

BORIS JOHNSON approved the shutdown of Parliament two weeks before publicly announcing it, a Scottish court has been told.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh heard Nikki da Costa, the Government’s director of legislative affairs, sent a note to the Prime Minister on Aug 15 asking if he wanted a shutdown. The message was ticked, with the word “Yes” written beside it.

In a handwritten note the next day, Mr Johnson said: “The whole September session is a rigmarole introduced [redacted] to show the public that MPS were earning their crust, so I don’t see anything particular shocking about this prorogation.”

Suggestions of a prospective shutdown surfaced in a newspaper leak on Aug 24 but No 10 stated: “The claim that the Government is considering proroguing Parliament in September in order to stop MPS debating Brexit is entirely false.” The Prime Minister publicly revealed the plan to prorogue Parliament on Aug 28 when the Queen met members of the Privy Council at Balmoral and approved the request.

He announced it would be prorogued until the Queen’s Speech on Oct 14, insisting MPS would have sufficient time to debate Brexit before the UK’S departure from the EU on Oct 31.

The timeline of events emerged in a case brought by 75 MPS and peers seeking to block the proroguing. They claim the PM acted illegally and unconstitutionally by suspending Parliament ahead of the Brexit deadline.

It is one of three such cases seeking to reverse the decision. Yesterday Sir John Major and three other parties were given the go-ahead to join businesswoman Gina Miller’s legal action.

Scottish Lord Advocate James Wolffe, Scotland’s senior law officer, the Welsh Government and Shami Chakrabarti, shadow attorney general, were also given permission to intervene. In Belfast, Raymond Mccord, a victims’ campaigner, also began an action.

Aidan O’neill QC, for the parliamentarians, said the note went to key figures, including Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s special adviser, Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, and Sir Edward Lister, Downing Street chief of staff.

Mr O’neill accused the PM of “breathtaking” contempt and having a record for “incontinent mendacity”. David Johnston QC, for the Government, said the suspension was a political decision outside of court jurisdiction.