British Prime Minister Boris Johnson closed down parliament to silence opposition to his Brexit strategy in an unlawful abuse of power, the UK's Supreme Court has heard
Judges began hearing three days of highly-charged arguments over whether it was lawful for Mr Johnson to advise the Queen to prorogue the UK’s Parliament for more than a month, as the clock ticks down to Britain's October 31 exit date from the European Union.
Campaigners against the British Prime Minister argue that Mr Johnson was motivated by a desire to stymie plans for a Brexit deal, when he asked the Queen to suspend Parliament for five weeks.
Mr Johnson’s lawyers said was not a matter for the courts to get involved in and that, regardless, it was permissible to suspend parliament for overtly political reasons.