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Suspending parliament ‘was unlawful’ – Supreme Court

The British Supreme Court has ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament was unlawful,

Mr Johnson suspended – or prorogued – Parliament for five weeks earlier in early September, but Supreme Court president Lady Hale said: "the effect on the fundamentals of democracy was extreme and it was wrong to stop MPs carrying out duties in the run-up to Brexit on 31 October.”

Downing Street has issued a statement that it is "currently processing the verdict".

'Frustrating parliament'

Lady Hale continued: "The decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification."

The decision was unanimous that Parliament had not been prorogued and it was up to the Speakers of the Commons and Lords to decide what to do next.

Speaker John Bercow said Parliament "must convene without delay and that he would be consulting party leaders "as a matter of urgency".