London (CNN) A former British Prime Minister has joined a legal effort to prevent the current leader from suspending the UK Parliament in the runup to Brexit, an extraordinary development in a battle that has already turned precedent on its head.

Major said he was keen to provide assistance to the court from the perspective of a former prime minister. The move was all the more striking, given that Major and Johnson are members of the same political party.

Johnson is accused of suspending Parliament in order to limit the time for his opponents to legislate against a no-deal Brexit. The Prime Minister insists the suspension is constitutional, as it provides for a new session of Parliament to begin, with a new legislative agenda.

John Major is joining the legal challenge.

In a TV interview on Friday, Johnson warned his opponents that EU leaders would be less likely to offer him the deal he seeks on Brexit if they believed that lawmakers would remove the threat of Britain leaving without a deal.

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