While alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and his pals in our free and fearless press try their best to put the frighteners on Commons Speaker John Bercow, who has just told Bozo The Clown that he is not going to get another vote on his Brexit deal today - at least, not if he just tries to bring back the same vote as on Saturday - he and his pals have effectively been told by the courts that they cannot be trusted.
As Zelo Street regulars will recall, court reporter James Doleman said earlier this month of the Court of Session in Edinburgh, “Scottish Court of Session decides to delay their decision in the government in the latest #Brexit case … As predicted, they have decided to wait until 19 October to see if Boris Johnson sends a Brexit extension letter before deciding if they will take action”. They didn’t trust Bozo to abide by the Benn Act.
Doleman added “In this latest #Brexit case in Scotland the government gave a binding legal commitment not to breach the Benn Act … For judges to effectively say, 'let's wait and see if they're lying,’ shows a huge breakdown in trust between the judiciary and the government”. Well, now that Bozo has sent the letter in accordance with that act, his lawyers have been back to the Court of Session to try and have the case dismissed.
After all, they sent the letter, didn’t they? That, though, is not how the court saw it. As the Herald Scotland has reported, “SCOTLAND’S highest civil court has rejected a UK Government bid to throw out a legal action aimed at ensuring Boris Johnson complies with the law. The Court of Session refused to dismiss an ongoing legal effort to make sure the Prime Minister sticks to his obligations under the so-called Benn Act”.
There was more. "Scotland's most senior judge, Lord Carloway, said the case should remain before the court ‘until it is clear that the obligations under [the Benn Act] have been complied with in full’”. Aidan O’Neill QC, for the petitioners, had “accepted Mr Johnson had complied with the law by sending the letter, but called on the court to continue the case until a future date to ensure the Prime Minister carries out all his obligations under the Benn Act. These include agreeing to a Brexit extension if one is offered”.
So it was no surprise that “Elaine Motion, chair of the law firm Balfour+Manson, which is acting for campaigners, said the Sword of Damocles remains hanging over Mr Johnson’s head”. James Doleman noted “government loses attempt to have Scottish [Brexit case] dismissed … The Scottish Backstop lives on”. Court says Bozo lies no shock horror.
Fortunately for Bozo, he could count on BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg to serve up the news as an act of wilful disinformation, which she duly did: "Court of Session has decided to delay decision today”. No, Laura. It really hasn’t. Bozo and his pals lost. They wanted the case dismissed; the action ended. They failed.
The real story of the day, not that the Beeb or any of the right-wing press will admit it, is that Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, has effectively said that the word of the Prime Minister cannot be trusted. Bozo has, after all, made a career from lying. It should surprise no-one that he is now reaping the rewards of his labours.
All that clever three-letters-sent-and-no-signature has failed. I’ll just leave that one there.
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2 comments:
We're headed for an early general election, Tim.
Given the Brexit shambles, watch Bozo and his far right fellow travellers try to make it into a "Patriots" V "Traitors" vomit of lies and Little Englander phony patriotism. It's what Cummings and his School of Goebbels do. Best get ready for it.
There's nothing that gang of meffs won't do or lie about to cling to Downing Street. If Britain puts them and their media back there you can assume we have gone as collectively insane as Nazi Germany. We know where that leads.
It seems that the Scottish court considering whether Johnson broke the law by sending a "we don't really want an extension" letter to the EU are relying on the Padfield principle of 1968.
Put simply: it is not open to a Minister to do a thing (or not do a thing) that would circumvent or frustrate an Act of Parliament.
And this makes sense: there would be no point in having Acts of Parliament if ministers could casually sidestep the legislation.
https://davidallengreen.com/2019/09/brexit-padfield-and-the-benn-act/
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