|
LONDON, Sept. 24-- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cut short his visit to a crucial UN general assembly summit in New York Tuesday to head back to London after judges ruled his shutdown of the Houses of Parliament was unlawful. He is expected to face immediate demands to turn up at the House of Commons to address politicians after a day of high drama in the Supreme Court, the highest court in Britain. Johnson was made aware before he left the U.S. of growing demands for him to quit 10 Downing Street after 11 of the country's most senior judges ruled he was wrong to prorogue, or suspend parliament for five weeks. They unanimously decided that Johnson's advice to British monarch Queen Elizabeth II on proroguing parliament was unlawful, void and of no effect. Legal experts had been anticipating a ruling that left Johnson with some wriggle room to escape the full wrath of the law. In the event the court decision could not have been worse for Johnson. Within hours of the judges handing down their ruling, the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, announced parliament would re-open at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, weeks before the scheduled State Opening by Queen Elizabeth on Oct. 14. Johnson remained adamant that he will not resign in the wake of the court ruling despite demands for him to quit from almost every opposition party at Westminster. As the world's media zoomed in on the dramatic events in London, Johnson had been holding bi-lateral talks in New York with Brexit high on the agenda. He also addressed a meeting of business people in New York, promoting the idea of closer UK-U.S. links after Brexit. | 
