Brexit: Major fears Johnson could use privy council to bypass law preventing no deal - live news

In a speech to the the Centre for European Reform, Major said he feared Boris Johnson could try - via the privy council - to bypass the Benn Act by suspending it until after 31 October.

He said: My fear is that the government will seek to bypass statute law, by passing an order of council to suspend the act until after 31 October.
It is important to note that an order of council can be passed by privy councillors – that is government ministers – without involving Her Majesty the Queen. I should warn the prime minister that – if this route is taken – it will be in flagrant defiance of parliament and utterly disrespectful to the supreme court. It would be a piece of political chicanery that no one should ever forgive or forget. Major also accused Johnson of “wilfully” destroying the prospects of cross-agreement on Brexit with his Commons onslaught on the opposition. We’ll be mopping up all the reaction to Major’s speech and covering the other political developments today.