The parliamentary speaker has warned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to disobey the law by refusing to ask for a Brexit delay and vowed to thwart any attempt to circumvent legislation.
Parliament earlier this month passed a law that aimed to prevent a “no-deal” Brexit, but Johnson is adamant Britain would still leave the EU on schedule on Oct. 31 with or without a withdrawal agreement.
British Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow said that disobeying the law “would be the most terrible example to set to the rest of society.”
In a speech in London on Thursday Bercow warned that if the government comes close to doing so, parliament “would want to cut off such a possibility and do so forcefully.”
“If that demands additional procedural creativity in order to come to pass, it is a racing certainty that this will happen, and that neither the limitations of the existing rule book nor the ticking of the clock will stop it doing so,” he said.
His comments came after Johnson denied he had lied to Queen Elizabeth II when requesting a suspension of parliament this month.
Johnson asked the British head of state to shutter parliament for five weeks from Tuesday, claiming it was necessary ahead of rolling out a new domestic agenda.
The unusually long suspension — known as prorogation — was widely seen as a bid to thwart opposition to a no-deal Brexit on the Oct. 31 and provoked uproar across the political spectrum, as well as legal challenges.
Asked on Thursday if he had misled the queen over his motives for the suspension, which would see the House of Commons closed until Oct. 14, Johnson said: “Absolutely not.”
Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission Chief Negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier said that there was “no reason to be optimistic” about striking any divorce deal with Britain before a crucial Oct. 17 and 18 EU summit.
Problems are mounting for Johnson, who finds himself increasingly boxed in on Brexit.
His government on Wednesday was forced to release its no-deal Brexit contingency plans after a parliamentary vote and Scotland’s highest civil court on the same day sided with critics of the prorogation, ruling it was “unlawful” and intended to “stymie parliament.”
The government has appealed the decision and the case is to be heard in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. In the meantime, parliament remains suspended.
Johnson on Thursday vowed that Britain would be ready for a no-deal departure from the EU on Oct. 31, despite his own government’s assessment that planning remained “at a low level.”
He said that the government had been “massively accelerating” its preparations since the Aug. 2 internal report, which was disclosed on Wednesday.
He called the “Operation Yellowhammer” forecast, which warned of possible civil unrest, as well as shortages of food and medicine following a no-deal, a “worst-case scenario.”
“All the industries that matter will be ready for a no-deal Brexit,” Johnson said.
The documents painted a grim picture of possible “public disorder and community tensions,” as well as logjams at English Channel ports, threatening supplies, after a no-deal departure.
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