Speaker John Bercow has said he will fight “with every bone in his body” to stop Boris Johnson proroguing parliament.
Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, he said “nobody is going to get away as far as I am concerned” with stopping MPs taking action to avoid a no-deal.
Johnson has upped the ante as Britain approaches Brexit D-Day on 31st October.
Diplomats in Brussels have been briefed that a no-deal Brexit now appears to be the UK Government’s “central scenario”, with no other plan in sight.
The option of suspending parliament – known as “proroguing” it – could allow Boris to push through a no-deal without parliament being allowed to interfere, something Bercow has said he is adamant to block.
“The one thing I feel strongly about is that the House of Commons must have its way,” he is reported to have said.
“And if there is an attempt to circumvent, to bypass or – god forbid! – to close down parliament that is anathema to me and I will fight it with every bone in my body to stop that happening.
“We cannot have a situation in which parliament is shut down – we are a democratic society and parliament will be heard and nobody is going to get away as far as I am concerned with stopping that happening.”
An audience member quoted by The Telegraph then shouted out to ask if parliament could still stop a no-deal Brexit, to which Mr Bercow reportedly replied unequivocally: “Yes.”