Move to suspend UK Parliament increases chances of no-deal Brexit

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament has prompted an angry backlash from opponents of a no-deal Brexit, leading to protests across the country, a legal challenge and a petition with more than one million signatures.

Outraged MPs accused Johnson and his government of sidelining Parliament in order to push through their Brexit plans — that could include no-deal — against the wishes of the House of Commons.

After the prime minister confirmed he had obtained permission from Queen Elizabeth to prorogue Parliament, MPs from across the political spectrum, including some from Johnson's own Conservative Party, focused on fast-tracking legislation that would seek to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

However, the government has defended the decision to suspend Parliament for a five-week period, likely from mid-September, and stressed the action is about launching Johnson's domestic agenda.

House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said the outrage was "phoney", and that the move was "constitutional and proper".

"The candyfloss of outrage we've had over the last 24 hours, which I think is almost entirely confected, is from people who never wanted to leave the European Union," he told the BBC on Thursday.

Labour's shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner told Sky News he was "amazed" at "how easily Jacob Rees-Mogg, with what superior tone, he twists the facts".

"This is a constitutional outrage," he added.

Gardiner said Labour would try to force an emergency debate when the Commons returns from its summer break next week. The opposition would then try to "mandate the government" to seek an extension to the Article 50 negotiating period, thereby delaying Brexit, in order to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has quit her role, citing her "conflict" over Brexit as well as family reasons.

Davidson's resignation will worry the Tories, as she is credited with the Conservatives' comeback in Scotland in the 2017 general election, when they won 13 seats that helped former prime minister Theresa May cling to power.

The suspension plan is not favored by the European Union.

The European Parliament's coordinator on Brexit, Guy Verhofstadt, said the move was unlikely to deliver a stable future relationship.

Writing in the Guardian newspaper, Verhofstadt said: "Taking back control has never looked so sinister".

Nathalie Loiseau, a former Europe minister and a close ally of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said the move heightened the chances of a no-deal outcome.

"We could see a Brexit without an agreement," the MEP wrote on Twitter. "It is, moreover, a Brexit without debate that is looming. From what disease is British democracy suffering from that there is a fear of debate before taking one of the most important decisions in its history?"

The request to the queen was made as Johnson's Brexit envoy David Frost met senior EU officials in Brussels to continue talks.

It has been noted that the move does in fact buy Johnson more time to strike a change to the proposed withdrawal deal, if there are fewer parliamentary sessions.

EU diplomats remain skeptical about whether the prime minister can find alternatives to the Irish backstop — the main stumbling block — that can win over his party.

Under the backstop, Northern Ireland would continue to follow many EU single market rules, while the UK would remain part of an EU single customs territory. The backstop would kick in automatically if the two sides failed to find an alternative and would apply until new arrangements could be agreed.