UK PM Boris Johnson sparks outrage at no-deal Brexit ploy
- UK PM moves to suspend Parliament, giving his political opponents even less time to block a chaotic no-deal Brexit
- Opposition figures labelled move ‘scandalous’, an ‘outrage’ and the act of a ‘tin pot dictator’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sparked fury among pro-Europeans and MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit by forcing the suspension of parliament weeks before Britain’s EU departure date.
The pound slid on the surprise news, which opponents branded a “coup” and a “declaration of war” but Johnson claimed was necessary to allow him to pursue a “bold and ambitious” new domestic agenda.
It came a day after opposition parties vowed to seek legislative changes to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
Queen Elizabeth approved the request to end what has been the longest session of parliament in nearly 400 years in the second week of September, and reopen it on October 14 - just over two weeks before Brexit.
Thousands of people protested in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and other cities, while an online petition decrying the decision had garnered more than one million signatures within the space of a few hours by late Wednesday.
At the biggest rally, crowds gathered near parliament in London chanting “stop the coup” and waving EU flags.