NEW: UK government accused of bringing the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis after widespread reports that PM Johnson is preparing to ask Queen Elizabeth to suspend Parliament.
LONDON — The British government was accused of bringing the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis Wednesday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked the queen to temporarily suspend Parliament.
Opponents see the move as an extraordinary attempt to make it harder for lawmakers who want to thwart the prime minister's plans for Brexit, as the deadline for Britain to leave the European Union looms on Oct. 31. The news sent the pound falling. The prime minister confirmed in a letter that he had asked the queen to close Parliament from early September until mid-October. He said the current parliamentary session had gone on too long, and claimed the move was the best way to pursue his"bold and ambitious domestic legislative agenda."Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a news conference at the end of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, Aug. 26, 2019.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said in a statement that he was"appalled at the recklessness" of the move."This is an outrage and a threat to our democracy." The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who was elected as a Conservative before taking up the impartial role, said such a move would be a"constitutional outrage.""a coup, plain and simple, against our parliamentary democracy." He warned it would"drag the monarch into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.
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