Britain

The Associated Press reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has compared himself to the Incredible Hulk in a newspaper interview emphasizing his determination to take Britain out of the European Union next month. The prime minister faces considerable legal and political hurdles but told the Mail on Sunday he will meet the Oct. 31 deadline no matter what. “The madder …

The Guardian reports: Boris Johnson has denied lying to the Queen over the suspension of parliament, insisting such claims were “absolutely not” true. Speaking on a visit to NLV Pharos, a lighthouse tender, which is moored alongside HMS Belfast on the Thames, he was asked if he had lied to the Queen when he asked her to prorogue parliament for …

The BBC reports: Boris Johnson’s suspension of the UK Parliament is unlawful, Scotland’s highest civil court has ruled. A panel of three judges at the Court of Session found in favour of a cross-party group of politicians who were challenging the prime minister’s move. The judges said the PM was attempting to prevent Parliament holding the government to account ahead …

The Guardian reports: There were extraordinary scenes of chaos and anger in the House of Commons overnight as opposition MPs staged a protest against the suspension of parliament for five weeks – a prorogation that the Speaker of the House said represented “an act of executive fiat”. As John Bercow began proceedings to prorogue parliament, a group of opposition MPs …

The Washington Post reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s dreams of an election that would clear his path to Brexit by the end of October were decisively dashed after midnight Tuesday morning, leaving him with no obvious means of making good on his vow of a “do or die” exit from the European Union. The latest obstacle to Johnson’s plans …

Courthouse News reports: The Netherlands has seen a fivefold increase in British investments as the deadline approaches for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, according to the Dutch government. Following the Brexit referendum in 2016, wherein the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, British investment in Dutch businesses has increased sharply. The U.K. is set to …

The Associated Press reports: Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted Monday that a new Brexit deal can be reached to ensure Britain leaves the European Union by the Oct. 31 deadline, as he prepared to suspend Parliament and send rebellious lawmakers home until two weeks before the country is supposed to leave the bloc. Lawmakers used the hours before the suspension …

The BBC reports: Amber Rudd has quit Boris Johnson’s cabinet, with an outspoken attack on the government’s approach to Brexit. The ex-work and pensions secretary said the government was having no “formal negotiations” with the EU about a new deal, only “conversations”. Instead, 80-90% of Brexit work was spent preparing for an “inferior” no-deal option, she said. In her resignation …

The Economist reports: When the food riots start, says Linda, a university administrator from Brighton, “I plan to watch them on TV enjoying a nice puttanesca whipped up from the Brexit cupboard.” Often included on no-deal-Brexit recipe lists, the fiery pasta dish from Naples requires nothing fresh. From her stash of tins and frozen veg, Linda is self-sufficient for up …

The BBC reports: Jo Johnson, the younger brother of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is resigning as an MP and minister, saying he is “torn between family loyalty and the national interest”. The business minister and Tory MP for Orpington, south-east London, cited an “unresolvable tension” in his role. Mr Johnson voted Remain in the 2016 EU membership referendum, while his …

The Guardian reports: Boris Johnson’s bid to trigger a general election next month has been blocked by MPs following a string of heavy defeats for the government in both houses of parliament. Immediately afterwards, the prime minister called Jeremy Corbyn, “the first leader of the opposition in the democratic history of our country to refuse the invitation to an election”. …

The Guardian reports: Boris Johnson’s first Prime Minister’s Questions was immediately embroiled in controversy after footage appeared to show him gesticulating towards Jeremy Corbyn, saying: “Call an election, you great big girl’s blouse.” The theme of the exchanges between the two had centred around the Labour leader asking Johnson to publish details of the government’s no-deal planning documents, while the …

Sky News reports: Former chancellors, Winston Churchill’s grandson and the current longest-serving MP have all been sacked from the Conservative Party for rebelling against the government in a bid to avoid a no-deal Brexit. The 21 Conservative MPs – many of them decades-long Tory loyalists – helped inflict defeat on Boris Johnson in his first major vote since becoming prime …

The Associated Press reports: Boris Johnson has launched a bid for an early general election after he suffered a humiliating defeat in the Commons today as MPs voted for a bill that could allow them to block a no-deal Brexit. Mr Johnson accused Parliament of being “on the brink of wrecking any deal” with Brussels after MPs handed control of …

The Metro reports: Boris Johnson has lost his majority of one after Tory MP Philip Lee defected to the Lib Dems by sitting on their bench. He made the move while Boris Johnson was mid way through delivering a speech in the House of Commons. The surprise move means there is now no parliamentary majority. In a letter of explanation, …

The Scotland Herald reports: The pound has slumped to its lowest level against the US dollar since 1985, surpassing a previous 2017 low to be worth less than 1.20 dollars. The present weakness has been caused by jittery markets as MPs return from summer recess and the chances of a general election rising, causing more Brexit uncertainty and angst. Rebel …

The BBC reports: Tory MPs who vote against the government in the Commons this week will be chucked out of the party and banned from standing for the Conservatives at the next election. Senior sources in government are confirming that plan was agreed by the prime minister and his enforcers – the party whips – in the splendour of his …

London Mayor Sadiq Khan writes for The Guardian: Vulnerable, often minority, communities are being demonised and scapegoated for all society’s ills. And, in appalling new parallels with the horrors of the past, migrants, refugees, people of colour, LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities are bearing the brunt. This comes as a new wave of extremist far-right movements and political parties are winning …

The Guardian reports: Tens of thousands of demonstrators are taking to the streets across Britain and outside the gates of Downing Street in protest against Boris Johnson’s move to suspend parliament. Crowds brandished banners pledging to “defend democracy”, chanted “stop the coup” and waved EU flags in London in a bid to resist the parliament shutdown. Demonstrators are massing at …

Yahoo News reports: Boris Johnson has said legal challenges to his decision to prorogue Parliament are making the prospect of obtaining a deal “less likely”. The Prime Minister hit out at his critics on Friday morning following the news that a bid by a cross-party group of more than 70 politicians to overturn the suspension had been refused by a …