LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is refusing to step down amid growing calls for his resignation from leading politicians after the United Kingdom’s high court ruled that his suspension of Parliament amid debate over Brexit was illegal.
Downing St. said Johnson will head back to London from the U.N. General Assembly in New York by the time Parliament resumes on Wednesday.
“I strongly disagree with this decision of the Supreme Court. I have the upmost respect for our judiciary, I don’t think this was the right decision,” Johnson said in New York. “I think that the prorogation (suspension of Parliament) has been used for centuries without this kind of challenge.”
Johnson did not rule out trying to suspend Parliament again.
“As the law currently stands, the U.K. leaves the EU on Oct. 31st come what may, but the exciting thing for us now is to get a good deal. And that is what we are working on,” Johnson said. “And, to be honest, it is not made much easier by this kind of stuff in Parliament or in the courts.”
In a remarkable decision, the U.K. Supreme Court unanimously declared that Johnson’s order to close Parliament earlier this month was “void and of no effect” and that his government had instead shut down the legislature in an effort to squelch debate on Britain’s divorce from the European Union.
“The suspension was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification,” Supreme Court President Brenda Hale said in a statement.
Immediately after the landmark ruling, opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn led the calls for Johnson’s resignation.
“I invite Boris Johnson, in the historic words, to consider his position,” he said during a party conference Tuesday, adding that Johnson should “become the shortest-serving prime minister there’s ever been.”
Meanwhile, Scottish National Party legislator Joanna Cherry said: “His position is untenable and he should have the guts for once to do the decent thing and resign.”
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow welcomed the historic verdict and said Parliament would resume its business Wednesday morning.
He said the ruling “vindicated the right and duty of Parliament to meet at this crucial time to scrutinize the executive and hold ministers to account.”
In a country without a written constitution, the case marked a rare confrontation between the prime minister, the courts and Parliament over their rights and responsibilities.
It revolved around whether Johnson acted lawfully when he advised the queen to suspend Parliament for five weeks during a crucial time frame before the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline when Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union. (Fox News)