John Bercow pledges to ensure MPs have chance to discuss move and table legislation against no deal

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Commons Speaker, John Bercow, issued a stinging criticism of Boris Johnson’s intention to prorogue parliament, describing it as a constitutional outrage aimed at preventing MPs from debating Brexit.

In a furious statement he said he had not been consulted by the prime minister, who he said risked undermining his democratic credentials.

Bercow is expected to ensure the Commons has a chance to discuss the move, and table legislation to combat no deal, as soon as it returns from the summer recess.

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“I have had no contact from the government, but if the reports that it is seeking to prorogue parliament are confirmed, this move represents a constitutional outrage,” he said.

“However it is dressed up, it is blindingly obvious that the purpose of prorogation now would be to stop parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty in shaping a course for the country.”

The Speaker, who is away on holiday, added: “At this early stage in his premiership, the prime minister should be seeking to establish rather than undermine his democratic credentials and indeed his commitment to parliamentary democracy.”

MPs are expected to ask the Speaker to either give them time to discuss prorogation when parliament returns next week or fast-forward cross-party legislative plans to try to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

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It is understood there will be attempts to push anti no-deal legislation – which was set to be timetabled for the end of the month – through both houses of parliament between 4 and 9 September.

The Conservative MP Dominic Grieve said he and others were working on a plan to organise a “humble address”, which is a direct call from the Commons to the Queen.

He said: “I think the decision to prorogue for five weeks is constitutionally wrong and frankly outrageous. I don’t think parliament can stop prorogation although there may be something that parliament can do to register its deep concern.

“It’s possible to do a humble address to the Queen to say that we should not prorogue. Boris Johnson must assume he is going to escape parliament and I don’t think he is.”

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A humble address is binding and can be used by the opposition to express its strength of feeling to the government or request that it hand over documents.

It has rarely been deployed in the past 200 years but Labour successfully used it in 2017 to make a direct appeal to the Queen that the government make public its economic impact assessments of Brexit.

Grieve said he and colleagues working to stop no deal would be working tirelessly before parliament returned on 3 September on a plan to show their unhappiness with prorogation.

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He also said Johnson was aware that parliament as a whole had no desire for a suspension during the conference recess period.

“We are in the middle of a national crisis. The prime minister knows very well that the Commons was resolved not to break for the conference recess. Normal prorogation is five, six days at most and his decision to go around and do this shows his reckless disregard for the way the UK functions. It is certainly not illegal but it’s constitutionally wrong.”