Queen will sack Boris Johnson if he does not seek an extension, former attorney general claims

He told presenter Adam Boulton that Boris Johnson would be “out in five minutes” if he ignored any Supreme Court ruling that forced him to go to Brussels to request an extension.

It comes as Hilary Benn warned that he would take the prime minister to court within days of him ignoring the law which instructs him to seek that extension.

Grieve predicted that the current attorney general would resign along with the lord chancellor Robert Buckland, while the civil service would refuse to work with the prime minister.

He explained: “He would be taken to court and a writ of mandamus would be issued against him and he would be told that he had, as a matter of law, to write the letter. I suspect the courts could deal with it very quickly.”

“At that stage, the cabinet secretary and civil service will refuse to work for him. I assume the attorney general and lord chancellor would have resigned, because it is such a flagrant breach of the law.”

He added that despite Geoffrey Cox being a government “cheerleader” as “a good enough lawyer to know you can’t support a prime minister who is breaking the law of the land”.

He continued to explain there would be a legal challenge, and if the prime minister ignored this the Queen would be likely to dismiss the prime minister.

He added her majesty’s judges would be “telling the prime minister that as a matter of law he has to do something.”

Asked by Boulton what that means if he ignores it, he said: “He will be gone in five minutes. He will be dismissed.”

When pressed further if the Queen would be the one to dismiss him, he replied: “Yes.”

He added this was a “hypothetical position”, but warned: “If he intends to continue behaving in this completely ludicrous fashion, yes, perhaps.”