Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has insisted Boris Johnson may be in contempt of Parliament over Brexit.
Mr McDonnell hit out at the way the Prime Minister distanced himself from a legally required request to the EU for a Brexit extension which he refused to sign.
The shadow chancellor accused Mr Johnson of “behaving a bit like a spoilt brat” over the issue.
Parliament’s bidding
Mr Johnson stressed to Brussels he was only sending the communication at Parliament’s bidding.
After suffering an embarrassing defeat in the Commons over his Brexit plans, the Prime Minister got a senior diplomat to send Brussels an unsigned photocopy of the call by MPs.
They also included a cover note stressing his detachment from the move.
In a second note to European Council president Donald Tusk, the PM said a Brexit extension would be “deeply corrosive”.
Behaving like a spoilt brat
Speaking on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Mr McDonnell said:
“He may well be in contempt of Parliament or the courts themselves because he’s clearly trying to undermine the first letter and not signing the letter.
“He’s behaving a bit like a spoilt brat.
My message to Boris Johnson and company: jog on with your daft ideas.#Marr #Ridge pic.twitter.com/1FzxoJwafy
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 20, 2019
“Parliament made a decision, he should abide by it and this idea that you send another letter contradicting the first, I think it flies in the face of what both Parliament and the courts have decided.”
Brexit extension
The PM’s move came after Mr Johnson told the Commons he will not negotiate a fresh Brexit extension with the EU.
Mr Tusk tweeted: “The extension request has just arrived. I will now start consulting EU leaders on how to react. #Brexit”
The move followed a special Saturday sitting of the Commons where MPs voted by 322 to 306 in favour of an amendment withholding approval of his Brexit deal until legislation to implement it is in place.
The amendment tabled by former Cabinet minister Sir Oliver Letwin was intended to force him to comply with the so-called Benn Act requiring him to seek a Brexit extension.
Parliament’s letter, not my letter
The PM rang European leaders, including Mr Tusk, on Saturday declaring that the letter “is Parliament’s letter, not my letter”.
The Benn Act set a deadline of 11pm on Saturday for the Prime Minister to get a deal if the UK is to leave on October 31, otherwise he is supposed to seek an extension.
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Government was planning to give MPs a fresh chance to have a “meaningful vote” on the deal hammered out by Mr Johnson with Brussels on Monday.
Speaker John Bercow said he would rule on Monday whether it was in order for the Government to hold the vote.
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
