LONDON _ Britain's Supreme Court dealt Prime Minister Boris Johnson a staggering blow on Tuesday, unanimously ruling that he acted unlawfully in suspending Parliament earlier this month during a crucial countdown to the country's departure from the European Union.
The ruling, which immediately sparked calls for Johnson's resignation, throws the already messy Brexit process into a next-level degree of disarray.
The country is scheduled to leave the EU on Oct. 31, and Johnson has insisted he wants to negotiate a withdrawal accord with the bloc. But the prime minister, who took office in late July, has not committed to obeying a law passed by Parliament earlier this month saying that if he can't produce such an accord, he must seek a delay.
The high court, in essence, rejected Johnson's stated rationale for suspending Parliament for five weeks as the Brexit deadline approached. His government at the time characterized it as a routine break between sessions that would give the prime minister a clean slate for setting his domestic agenda _ a contention that was met by a loud outcry from opponents, together with legal challenges.
The Supreme Court's senior judge Brenda Hale, reading out Tuesday's verdict, said the suspension was "unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions, without reasonable justification."
The court said it was up to lawmakers, particularly the speakers of its upper and lower houses, to decide what to do next, and the House of Commons speaker, John Bercow, said lawmakers would return on Wednesday.
Brexit has caused enormous upheaval in British politics, driving out two prime ministers and putting unprecedented strains on the country's democratic institutions. Now Johnson's grip on power could be imperiled.
As the ruling was handed down, the prime minister was in New York, where he was scheduled to meet Tuesday with President Trump on the sidelines of the General Assembly. It wasn't yet known whether he would break off his United Nations visit and return home to deal with the burgeoning crisis.
The prime minister's office said it was "processing the verdict."
