British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday rejected accusations that he misled the queen about his reasons for suspending Parliament just weeks before the U.K. is set to leave the European Union, The Hill reports.
“Absolutely not,” Johnson said about lying after a Scottish court ruled that his advice to the queen, which triggered a five-week suspension of Parliament, was unlawful. “The High Court in England plainly agrees with us but the Supreme Court will have to decide.”
“We need a Queen’s Speech, we need to get on and do all sorts of things at a national level,” he added, according to CNN.
Johnson on Tuesday suspended Parliament until October 14, sparking backlash from legislators and legal challenges. That will give lawmakers mere weeks to iron out a deal before Johnson’s self-imposed October 31 Brexit deadline.
A suspension requires the formal approval of the queen. Last week, the High Court in London said the decision to suspend Parliament was inherently political and “not a matter for the courts”.
The U.K. Supreme Court is set to consider next week whether the shutdown should be reversed, after conflicting rulings in the London and Scottish courts. Johnson has defended the suspension as necessary to launch a fresh domestic agenda next month.
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