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| Brexit: Major fears Johnson could use privy council to bypass law preventing no deal - live news | Brexit: Major fears Johnson could use privy council to bypass law preventing no deal - live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| There are a couple of interesting stories around concerning preparedness for Brexit. | |
| This, by my colleague, Rajeev Syal, says ministers do not know whether there are sufficient medicines, medical supplies or freight capacity to support the NHS if the UK leaves the EU without a deal next month, the National Audit Office has found. | |
| Ministers still do not know if NHS can cope with no deal, says watchdog | |
| Meanwhile, Schools Week reports that the the Department for Education has denied the existence of preparation plans for a no-deal Brexit that it claimed existed just two months ago. | |
| Exclusive: Department for Education denies existence of preparation plans for a no-deal Brexit that it claimed existed just two months ago, prompting accusations it 'misled Parliament' https://t.co/4LH2b0lyze | |
| Schools Week reports that when it asked the Education and Skills Funding Agency for details of the “decisive action” it previously said it had taken, the agency told it that while it had “discussed the possible contribution of staff as volunteers to be seconded to other government departments for EU exit preparations, there were no specific plans in place regarding discontinuation of work or the allocation of staff numbers or roles to any particular department”. | |
| David Allen Green’s comments (see below) dismissing the idea that the government can get round the Benn Act, echo those made by others. | |
| They include Jolyon Maugham QC, a leading lawyer in the fight against Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament and Mark Elliot, professor of public law at Cambridge University. | |
| It is unclear from Sir John Major's speech exactly what may be in contemplation. One possibility would be an Order made under the royal prerogative. But that would plainly be incapable of suspending an Act of Parliament. /3 | |
| Using the prerogative to suspend an Act of Parliament would also be flatly inconsistent with fundamental constitutional principles, according to which primary legislation enacted by Parliament takes priority over the prerogative. /5 | |
| The legal commentator David Allen Green has rejected the notion that Boris Johnson could get round the Benn Act via the privy council and says judges would swiftly repudiate any attempt to do so. | |
| And any attempt at such tomfoolery can and would be quashed by the High Court on the basic Padfield constitutional principle within a couple of days, if not a few hoursPrinciple so basic it would not need to go to Supreme Court | And any attempt at such tomfoolery can and would be quashed by the High Court on the basic Padfield constitutional principle within a couple of days, if not a few hoursPrinciple so basic it would not need to go to Supreme Court |
| General purpose tweetTo any piece of the form "Has [x] discovered a way round the Benn Act?"The initial answer is "No, Padfield"Only if the piece explains how the 1968 case of Padfield is also sidestepped, then the piece is legally worthless briefed by the legally amateur | General purpose tweetTo any piece of the form "Has [x] discovered a way round the Benn Act?"The initial answer is "No, Padfield"Only if the piece explains how the 1968 case of Padfield is also sidestepped, then the piece is legally worthless briefed by the legally amateur |
| And it is impossible to imagine a situation where an "emergency" powers would allow a government to amend the Benn Act as a direct and proportionate way of mitigating an emergency, but even so, that would need to be put before parliament promptly for approval | And it is impossible to imagine a situation where an "emergency" powers would allow a government to amend the Benn Act as a direct and proportionate way of mitigating an emergency, but even so, that would need to be put before parliament promptly for approval |
| Here is a link to the full text of John Major’s speech warning that Boris Johnson might try to bypass the law preventing no deal. | |
| http://www.johnmajorarchive.org.uk/2015-2/sir-john-majors-speech-at-the-centre-for-european-reform-26-september-2019/ | http://www.johnmajorarchive.org.uk/2015-2/sir-john-majors-speech-at-the-centre-for-european-reform-26-september-2019/ |
| The international development secretary, Alok Sharma, refused to answer this morning when asked how the government could abide by the Benn Act and yet still leave the European Union on 31 October. | |
| He told the BBC: | He told the BBC: |
| I’m not going to set out discussions that have occurred in the privacy of cabinet. | I’m not going to set out discussions that have occurred in the privacy of cabinet. |
| We are absolutely going to comply with the law, we are working incredibly hard to get a deal and we will be leaving on 31 October. | We are absolutely going to comply with the law, we are working incredibly hard to get a deal and we will be leaving on 31 October. |
| Sharma also said Johnson was right to label the Benn Act, the “surrender act”. | Sharma also said Johnson was right to label the Benn Act, the “surrender act”. |
| He said: | He said: |
| If you look at the fundamentals of what that bill does, it does surrender our ability to have effective discussions with the European Union and it does surrender our ability to be able to walk away from the table if that is what happens. | If you look at the fundamentals of what that bill does, it does surrender our ability to have effective discussions with the European Union and it does surrender our ability to be able to walk away from the table if that is what happens. |
| We are surrendering our ability to negotiate effectively with the EU. If you were going into a negotiation with both hands tied behind your back, would you not think it somehow a form of capitulation? | We are surrendering our ability to negotiate effectively with the EU. If you were going into a negotiation with both hands tied behind your back, would you not think it somehow a form of capitulation? |
| In his speech, Major also criticised the language being used by Johnson and others. He said: | In his speech, Major also criticised the language being used by Johnson and others. He said: |
| We abhor the language of division and hate - and words such as ‘saboteur’, ‘traitor’, ‘enemy’, ‘surrender’, ‘betrayal’ have no place in our party, our politics, nor in our society. | We abhor the language of division and hate - and words such as ‘saboteur’, ‘traitor’, ‘enemy’, ‘surrender’, ‘betrayal’ have no place in our party, our politics, nor in our society. |
| It is emphatically not who we are as a people. And must never be seen as so. | |
| Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the day’s political news. This is Haroon Siddique standing in for Andrew Sparrow. | Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the day’s political news. This is Haroon Siddique standing in for Andrew Sparrow. |
| We’re leading today with the news that the former Conservative prime minister John Major has warned that 10 Downing Street’s current incumbent could seek to subvert the Benn Act, which requires the prime minister to seek an extension to the Brexit withdrawal date beyond 31 October if a withdrawal agreement has not been ratified by then. | |
| In a speech to the the Centre for European Reform, Major said he feared Boris Johnson could try – via the privy council – to bypass the Benn Act by suspending it until after 31 October. | |
| He said: | He said: |
| My fear is that the government will seek to bypass statute law, by passing an order of council to suspend the act until after 31 October. | My fear is that the government will seek to bypass statute law, by passing an order of council to suspend the act until after 31 October. |
| It is important to note that an order of council can be passed by privy councillors – that is government ministers – without involving Her Majesty the Queen. | It is important to note that an order of council can be passed by privy councillors – that is government ministers – without involving Her Majesty the Queen. |
| I should warn the prime minister that – if this route is taken – it will be in flagrant defiance of parliament and utterly disrespectful to the supreme court. | I should warn the prime minister that – if this route is taken – it will be in flagrant defiance of parliament and utterly disrespectful to the supreme court. |
| It would be a piece of political chicanery that no one should ever forgive or forget. | It would be a piece of political chicanery that no one should ever forgive or forget. |
| Major also accused Johnson of “wilfully” destroying the prospects of cross-party agreement on Brexit with his Commons onslaught on the opposition. | |
| We’ll be mopping up all the reaction to Major’s speech and covering the other political developments today. | We’ll be mopping up all the reaction to Major’s speech and covering the other political developments today. |
| If you want to get in touch, the best way is to tweet me at @Haroon_Siddique. |