Brexit: Johnson humiliated as MPs deny him an election

It was another dramatic day in Westminster with the session, the last until October 14, running until the early hours of this morning.

Other key developments included the resignation of the Speaker John Bercow, the passage of the Bill mandating the Prime Minister to ask for a Brexit extension, and MPs protesting the prorogation.

But the  most upsetting for the Tory leader will almost certainly have been the Commons voting to order Downing Street to hand over secret messages from his advisers about suspending Parliament.

The former attorney general, Dominic Grieve, passed an emergency motion that will force Johnson to publish information he’d rather have kept private.

The Government will now have to release controversial Operation Yellowhammer documents, prepared in recent months, which set out preparations for a No-Deal Brexit.

The motion, known as a humble address to the Queen, also means Downing Street has until 11pm tomorrow to publish messages relating to the prorogation of Parliament sent by Johnson’s senior adviser Cummings and various other aides.

MPs specifically asked for messages sent on WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Facebook messenger, by private email – both encrypted and unencrypted – and messages on official and personal mobile phones.

Grieve told the Commons he had tabled the motion after being approached by a whistleblower who told him “they believed the handling of this matter smacked of scandal”.

A Downing Street spokesman said the scope of information requested was “disproportionate and unprecedented”.

He said: “The Government is committed to sharing appropriate information with Parliament, but we must balance this obligation with the broader public interest, our legal duties and the assurance that ministers can receive full and frank advice that will remain confidential. The scope of the information requested in the humble address is disproportionate and unprecedented.”

Another emergency motion lodged by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn simply demanded the Government obey the law.

It came as the Queen gave the legislation on extending the Article 50 process Royal Assent yesterday afternoon.

That new law mandates Johnson to send a letter to Brussels on October 19 asking for a delay, unless he either manages to secure a new deal with the EU or secure Parliament’s backing for a No Deal.

Corbyn said he tabled the motion on “behalf of the people of this country who want to live in a democratic society where the Government abide by the rule of law”.

Speaking in the debate, the SNP’s Ian Blackford said: “The rule book has been well and truly ripped up, and with it democracy and decency shredded by a cult of Brexit fanboys in No 10 unfit and unwilling to govern.

“What a despicable state of affairs, that an unelected bureaucrat – the Prime Minister’s lead advisor, is sitting in No 10 devising and directing an assault on democracy, preventing parliamentary scrutiny and transparency.”

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab defended Johnson’s administration: “This Government will always respect the rule of law.

“That’s been our clear position consistently, and frankly it is outrageous that it is even in doubt.

“Of course, how the rule of law will be respected is normally straightforward.

“But sometimes it can be more complex because there are conflicting laws or competing legal advice.

“The Government usually gets its interpretation right, but there have been many judicial reviews over the years by many governments of different complexions.”

One of the last acts of MPs in the Commons before progration was to deny Johnson his attempt for a second election. Labour and SNP MPs abstained.

Though the government motion was backed by 293 to 46 it fell way short of the two-thirds majority of the House of Commons.

As the prorogation ceremony got underway the Speaker of the House of Commons complained that it was not standard or normal.

Some Labour MPs tried to pin the Speaker into his chair, as the suspension wouldn't be able to proceed without his willingess.

Bercow, however agreed to go to the Lords for the prorogation ceremony, telling the Commons: “This is not a standard or normal prorogation. It represents an act of executive fiat”.

Meanwhile, Ruth Davidson attacked Johnson for removing the whip from 21 Tory MPs.

Writing in the London Evening Standard, the former Scottish Tory leader, said the Prime Minister’actions could prove “short-sighted”.

Davidson said the party was alienating Remain voters while chasing Leave backing constituencies.

“It’s a pretty big risk,” she wrote “especially when, according to YouGov, 39% of regular Conservative voters voted Remain at the Brexit referendum – and it is unclear how many more who voted Leave did so in the full expectation that the process would be managed and a deal agreed.

“Last week’s sackings do nothing to reassure them that the Conservative Party is still their home.”

Less than a fortnight ago, as se announced her resignation, Davidson insisted she supported Johnson’s approach to Brexit.

The party in Scotland is in trouble, with many members unhappy at Johnson’s administrations.

That unhappiness has seen renewed talk of a more autonomous Scottish centre-right party, wholly separate from the UK Tories.

However, a group of activists have established Scottish Conservatives Together to protest any plans for Tory independence.

It has been endorsed by Aberdeen South MP Ross Thomson.