The legal battle over Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament for five weeks is being heard at the Supreme Court, with Gina Miller’s legal representative arguing the prime minister “abused his power”.
Mr Johnson has pledged to “obey the law” but said he wanted to “wait and see what the judges say” before his government decides whether to recall parliament.
It comes as Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson claimed she is a “candidate for prime minister”, while Tory MPs condemned Luxembourg’s prime minister Xavier Bettel for conducting a press conference next to an empty lectern.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below:
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of events at Westminster and beyond.
Jo Swinson is promising the Lib Dems will halt Brexit “on day one” if they win a parliamentary majority in the looming general election expected within weeks.
Our political editor has all the details ahead of her first conference speech as leader.
Liberal Democrats will halt Brexit ‘on day one’ if they win parliamentary majority in snap election
Jo Swinson says she is standing as ‘candidate for prime minister’ in election which may come within the next few monthsTory MPs and Boris Johnson’s allies in the press are not happy at all with Luxembourg’s prime minister Xavier Bettel for conducting a press conference next to an empty lectern.
Iain Duncan Smith, former Tory leader, said: “The irony is that Luxembourg was saved by Britain. National leaders should always treat one another with courtesy and civility. Good ones do.”
Nigel Evans, joint secretary of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, said: “Pathetic grandstanding by Lux PM – another reason why the British people voted the way we did.”
David Morris, Tory MP, said: “The PM and his team are working day in and day out to deliver a deal for Britain – this is no time for childish stunts.”
Sir Nicholas Soames, one of the 21 rebels expelled, accused Bettel of “unhelpful grandstanding”.
According to The Sun, a No 10 official called Bettel “a clown” for staging the solo press conference.
The Daily Express called it an “ambush”, while The Daily Mail said it was a “deliberate attempt to humiliate the British prime minister”.
Boris Johnson has promised to “obey the law” in his latest interview with the BBC, but again pledged to “exit with no deal on 31 October” if necessary.
He refused seven times to tell Laura Kuenssberg how he would somehow skirt the Benn bill blocking a no-deal Brexit.
And he also said he “will wait and see” what the Supreme Court decides before deciding whether to re-open parliament.
All the details here.
Boris Johnson suggests his new Brexit proposals will be kept secret until UK and EU have 'done the deal'
Prime minister also refuses, seven times, to say how he will defy the law to avoid a Halloween crash-out – declining to rule out taking parliament to courtLiberal Democrat MP Chuka Umunna has said he “wouldn’t rule out” the party winning a majority in the House of Commons in the coming snap election.
He predicted leader Jo Swinson would be a “wild card” in the election, disrupting the two major parties to an extent that is not yet appreciated.
Asked on BBC1’s Breakfast whether he believed the Lib Dems could win a majority in the Commons, Umunna said: “I certainly wouldn’t rule that out. The fact of the matter is we just don’t know what is going to happen.
“I think there is something very big going on in British politics at the moment. We are seeing a reconfiguration of British politics.”
He said that under Boris Johnson the Conservatives had become a “right-wing nationalist party” expelling its own moderate MPs. And he dismissed Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn as “not fit to govern”.
And he told Sky News: “We’ve got a new, young, dynamic leader who has unity in her party and is not having to be consumed by fighting internal wars in her party.
“I think Jo is going to prove to be a wild card. People massively underestimate the effect that Jo is going to have in a general election campaign.”
Umunna dismissed suggestions that the new Revoke policy was undemocratic. “It would be undemocratic if, having been elected to stop Brexit, we didn’t do that,” he said.
Europe’s press has largely reported Boris Johnson’s visit to Luxembourg as a humiliation for the British prime minister. Our correspondent Jon Stone has this handy round-up.
How Europe's press reported Boris Johnson's 'humiliation' in Luxembourg
'In the end, the man who has defined himself as the Incredible Hulk has become invisible'The justice secretary Robert Buckland has failed to rule out a second bid to suspend parliament in October.
Asked whether it was remotely conceivable that Johnson could prorogue again, Buckland told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Harold Wilson said a week is a long time in politics, it seems like an hour is a long time in politics at the moment, and for me to sit here and imagine what might happen at the end of October, I think is idle.
“What I do know is if we are able to, we will have a Queen’s Speech in October, there will be debate during that time and a vote as well, perhaps a series of votes, and I think Parliament has already shown its power.”
Buckland earlier labelled the actions of Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel an “unfortunate media stunt”.
Shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti said Boris Johnson had been “using weasel words” about how much he respects judges – accusing him of leading “far-right” government.
Raising concerns on how the government will treat legislation designed to stop it forcing through no deal, she also told the Today programme: “Ministers in this Johnson government, bizarre dystopian universe have now indicated that they might not even abide by the terms of that legislation.
“We’ve seen briefing from No 10 that they might prorogue parliament a second time to avoid the enforcement of the Benn legislation or the scrutiny of the House of Commons, and that they’re thinking of other ways to avoid that legislation.”
Here’s our deputy political Rob Merrick, with more on the justice secretary’s latest remarks.
Justice Secretary refuses to rule out shutting down parliament again and casts doubt on Queen's Speech
Asked if a second prorogation is 'remotely conceivable', Robert Buckland says events are too volatile to make predictionsOur correspondent Ben Kentish will be reporting live from the Supreme Court this morning, with the huge case on the suspension of parliament set to begin at 10.30am.
Jo Swinson can be the “refreshing change” the country needs, according to Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie.
Ahead of a speech at the party’s conference in Bournemouth, Rennie told Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn to “watch out” for the Liberal Democrat leader.
“When you look at Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, the answer has to be Jo Swinson,” Rennie is expected to say.
“Talented, energetic, empathetic and most of all downright determined. Isn’t that the character of someone who would lead our country so well? It’s the refreshing change we need.
“In the midst of a national crisis, Jo Swinson is rising up. It’s time for the old to make way for the new. So Boris and Jeremy watch out, Jo is on the march.”
David Cameron has issued a strong defence of his government’s austerity policy. “We probably didn’t cut enough,” Cameron wrote in the latest published extract from his memoirs.
The former PM dismissing the “hysterical” reaction to slashing public spending. “You’d think we had reinstated the workhouse.”
Cameron has also written of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s “extraordinary gestures” which helped him see his father for a final time.
Sarkozy came to his aide when his father Ian Cameron fell ill in France. “Nicolas Sarkozy came through on the car phone to tell me that he had heard my father was unwell, and his office had spoken to the doctors concerned.
“They were worried that the stroke was potentially fatal. He said, ‘Whatever you do, David, turn around and get back on the plane, and I will get you to your father’.”
Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller has arrived at the Supreme Court. Supporters outside greeted her with applause, cheers and chants of “Bravo Gina Miller”.
Some protesters in Parliament Square have been waving placards with the slogans “defend democracy”, “reopen parliament” and “don’t silence our MPs”.
Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby has arrived outside the Supreme Court, and called the case “big potatoes”.
Dimbleby said: “I lived through Suez, the miners' strike, I lived through the poll tax debate and the trouble then. I lived through the Iraq demonstrations - I've never seen the country so divided as this.”
He added: “The next six weeks are clearly critical. I’ve never known the country so seriously riven by argument.”
Dimbleby said the case was “not just dramatic – it’s really, really important for all our futures.
“The prime minister is accused of lying to the Queen – let’s put it bluntly - and getting parliament suspended without good reason and that’s big potatoes, it has to be.”
If you missed it, here’s our sketch writer Tom Peck’s take on David Cameron’s big interview on ITV last night.
Cameron has never looked and sounded more like the heir to Blair. Brexit is his Iraq | Tom Peck
Cameron asked the country to solve his party's problems, a huge strategic mistake and a crushing failure of leadershipAs Lady Hale begins setting out the case at the Supreme Court, Liberal Democrat members have passed an emergency motion calling on the government to recall parliament immediately.
The conference motion demands that Boris Johnson asks the Queen to revoke the prorogation order, and states that future decisions about when parliament sits should be handed to MPs.
Speaking after the motion was passed, Liberal Democrat Stop Brexit Spokesman Tom Brake MP said: “Boris Johnson has shut down democracy and silenced people’s voices in the middle of the biggest crisis in recent history.
“An unelected Prime Minister, with no majority, cannot be allowed to trample over our democracy. That is why Liberal Democrats have passed this motion, calling for parliament to be immediately recalled. Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for the people.”
In the Supreme Court, the historic case to determine whether Boris Johnson unlawfully suspended Parliament is just getting under way.
Lady Hale, the president of the court, makes clear that the 11 judges hearing the case are “not concerned with the wider political issues that form the context of the legal issue”. She says their ruling will not determine in any way "when and how the UK leaves the EU".
Lord Pannick then opens the case against Mr Johnson on behalf of Gina Miller.
He says his side will argue that:
"The prime minister advised Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament for as long as five weeks because he, the prime minister, wishes to avoid... the risk that Parliament during that period would take action to frustrate or to damage the policies of the government."
So what’s at stake in the case? Our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden explains why it goes even further than our current PM, with the verdict set to be absorbed into our constitution.
The Supreme Court showdown on suspending parliament goes further than Boris Johnson
Judges’ ruling on whether they have the right to scrutinise a prime minister’s political decision will be absorbed into the British constitutionOur dear. Lady Hale seems to have differently-numbered paperwork from Lord Pannick – who is setting out the case for Gina Miller. “It’s very inconvenient for everybody,” says Lord Pannick, apologising.
Further confusion over tab numbers. Some of the other judges are complaining their documents are also differently numbered from Lord Pannick’s documents – who is setting out the case for Gina Miller.
“I’m terribly sorry,” says Lord Pannick, who asks the clerk to get copies of his documents. “We need a number of copies, please.”
