Government could suspend parliament for a second time if it loses court case

Thousands of demonstrators gather outside Downing Street to take part in Stop the Coup protests. (Photo by WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto via Getty Images) - Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings are considering prorogation of parliament for a second time as the government loses control of the House of Commons.

The Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday reports that during a meeting of ministerial aides on Friday evening, Cummings warned of a “nuclear” option which means if the courts ruled against the government it “could just prorogue again”.

He is alleged to have added: “The constitutional crisis is only just beginning.”

According to a Downing Street source in the Times, they expect a “major court battle immediately after the 19th” with “attempts to pass legislation revoking Article 50, which the prime minister will refuse to consider.”

But Katy Balls from the Telegraph suggests he was “half joking”, with others speaking to the Times believe it is “unrealistic” to believe Johnson would break the law.

One said: “I don’t think he wants a spell in Ford open prison. When your advisers are saying of the best outcomes is to resign, it must concentrate the mind.”