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London (CNN) - The controversial five-week suspension of British Parliament sessions by Prime Minister Boris Johnson was illegal, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled Tuesday, in a historic decision that will have far-reaching constitutional implications.
The judges unanimously confirmed an earlier decision of the highest civil court in Scotland, which ruled that Johnson had acted illegally to suppress parliamentary scrutiny of his Brexit strategy.
The decision is a great defeat for the prime minister and essentially dictates that he lied to the queen when he asked him to suspend the sessions of Parliament. The ruling will probably trigger a bitter discussion about whether the judges have intervened too much in the political arena of the United Kingdom.
Johnson's decision to suspend the sessions of Parliament until mid-October was very controversial. Opposition lawmakers accused him of trying to block political efforts to stop a brexit without an agreement on October 31.
The government insisted that the measure was constitutional and the procedure normal when a government wants to restart the parliamentary session with a new legislative agenda.
Boris JohnsonBrexit