Jeremy Corbyn requests urgent meeting with the Queen to demand she blocks Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan to shut down Parliament

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament in mid-September to force through a no-deal Brexit.
The move prompted outrage among political opponents, with opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn demanding a meeting with the monarch to request that the suspension is blocked.
However, such requests to the Queen are almost always a formality and the Queen reportedly accepted Johnson’s request.
Johnson insisted Parliament would still have "ample time" to debate Brexit.
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UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has requested an urgent meeting with Queen to demand she blocks Boris Johnson’s plan to suspend parliament in order to force through Brexit.

The prime minister met with the Queen on Wednesday morning to request that she shuts down parliament on September 9, just days after members return from their summer break, until October 14.

The move appeared designed to limit the opportunity for members of parliament to press ahead with their plans to prevent Johnson from leaving the EU on October 31, with or without a deal.

Under the UK constitution such requests are normally a formality and Buckingham Palace reportedly granted Johnson’s request.

However, the Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote to the monarch on Wednesday asking for an urgent meeting amid growing political outrage about the move..

"I am appalled at the recklessness of Johnson’s government, which talks about sovereignty and yet is seeking to suspend parliament to avoid scrutiny of its plans for a reckless No Deal Brexit," he said in a statement.

Watch Corbyn attack Johnson’s "smash and grab on our democracy"

He was joined by the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow who described the decision as a "constitutional outrage."

"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," he said in a statement.

Other senior politicians, including the former Conservative Chancellor Philip Hammond joined the protests against the move.

A large protest is expected outside parliament on Wednesday evening.

Johnson denied trying to subvert parliament, telling ITV news that there would still be "ample time" for parliament to scrutinise Britain’s exit from the EU.

In a letter to all members of parliament, he added that: "Parliament will have the opportunity to debate the Government’s overall programme, and approach to Brexit, in the run up to EU Council, and then vote on this on 21 and 22 October, once we know the outcome of the Council."

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