Attorney General Geoffrey Cox was engaged in an Twitter spat with a top academic over the Supreme Court’s damning verdict that the Government’s shutting down of Parliament was unlawful.
It followed a claim that Mr Cox told the Cabinet in a phone call that he did not believe any prorogation over the past 50 to 100 years would have “survived” yesterday’s judgment by Britain’s top court.
Mark Elliott, Professor of public law at Cambridge university, responded to the report: “*If* the Attorney General had said this — and I emphasise the word ‘if’ — then he would have fundamentally failed to understand the judgment.”
Mr Cox responded: “If Professor Mark Elliott — and I emphasise the word ‘if’ — had said the moon was made of cheese — then he would have fundamentally failed to understand the geological structure of the moon — and cheese.”
Professor Elliott replied: “I assumed this was a spoof account, but apparently not.”
The row came as MPs were expected to seek to force the Government to publish Mr Cox’s legal advice on the prorogation which was declared by the Supreme Court to be void given that it was unlawful.
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg is reported to have dismissed yesterday’s historic court decision as a “constitutional coup”.
However, former Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption said such a view was “nonsense”.
MPs pointed out that Brexiteers had championed bringing back power to Parliament and the UK courts but were now attacking them.
