LONDON — In a decision that badly undermines Boris Johnson’s authority, Britain’s highest court ruled unanimously Tuesday that the prime minister broke the law by suspending Parliament in a way that squelched legitimate scrutiny of his Brexit plan.
The historic move by the U.K. Supreme Court offered a ringing endorsement of Parliament’s sovereignty and slapped down what justices viewed as the legislature’s silencing by the executive.
The ruling upended the prime minister’s plan to keep lawmakers away until two weeks before Britain is due to leave the European Union. The Supreme Court said Johnson’s suspension was “void” and never legally took effect, opening the door for Parliament to resume its duties this morning as if nothing had happened.
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow welcomed the decision, saying citizens were “entitled” to have Parliament in session to review the government and enact laws.
The ruling also established that Johnson had involved Queen Elizabeth II — one of the most revered and respected figures in British life — by giving her improper advice when he sought her permission to shutter Parliament for five weeks.
The British government said Johnson spoke to the queen after the ruling, but did not disclose details of the conversation.
Johnson said he objected to court’s decision but would comply.
“I have the upmost respect for our judiciary. I don’t think this was the right decision,” Johnson said in New York, where he is attending the U.N. General Assembly. He said the suspension of Parliament “has been used for centuries without this kind of challenge.”
The ruling could not have been clearer. Reading a unanimous decision by the 11 highest judges in the land, Supreme Court President Brenda Hale said the prime minister had acted illegally.
“It is impossible for us to conclude, on the evidence which has been put before us, that there was any reason — let alone a good reason — to advise her majesty to prorogue Parliament for five weeks,” she said. “We cannot speculate, in the absence of further evidence, upon what such reasons might have been. It follows that the decision was unlawful.”
The suspension “had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification,” Hale said.
The ruling forced a chastened Johnson to cut short his trip to New York to fly home overnight in time for Parliament’s unexpected session, where he will undoubtedly face a crescendo of calls to resign after his judicial humiliation.
