Boris Johnson: EU gives fresh Brexit ultimatum as Supreme Court told 'mother of parliaments shut down by father of lies'

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has said he would not have held the vote on independence in 2014 if he had known Boris Johnson would become prime minister and the UK would be facing the prospect of a hard Brexit.

Instead he said he would have delayed the vote - claiming this would have resulted in at least three-fifths of Scots backing independence.

He spoke out on the fifth anniversary of the independence referendum, when Scots backed staying in the UK by 55 per cent to 45 per cent.

He said: "If I had but known five years ago that Boris Johnson would become PM and Britain would be poised on the brink of a hard Brexit then I would have delayed the Scottish referendum and now looked forward to a 60 per cent plus Yes vote.

"In reality, it is probably the case that Scotland had to experience the fundamental shift of opinion in our first referendum before acting decisively to seize the day next time around.

"Therefore on this fifth anniversary we should focus not on what might have been but on the opportunity still to come."

In impassioned closing remarks in the Supreme Court, Aidan O’Neill urges the judges: 

“Stand up for the truth, stand up for reason, stand up for unity and diversity, stand up for parliament, stand up for democracy by dismissing this government’s appeal and upholding a constitution governed by laws and not the passing whims of men”.

In an extraordinary attack on Boris Johnson and his government, he continues:

“We've got here the mother of parliaments being shut down by the father of lies. Rather than allowing lies to triumph, listen to the angels of your better nature and rule that this prorogation is unlawful - an abuse of power which has been entrusted to the government."

The court has now been adjourned until tomorrow.

Here's a clip of Aidan O'Neill's brutal takedown of the prime minister in the Supreme Court.

Our sketchwriter Tom Peck has filed an absolutely brutal sketch of the prime minister's day.

He writes: "At the very moment the prime minister's barrister is arguing he did not lie to the Queen, the prime minister lies to a sick child's dad in a north London hospital."

Read his take here:

Sorry Remainers, Corbyn will never oppose Brexit, writes Independent commentator Andrew Grice.

He says: "In a future referendum, Corbyn will likely refuse to support either side, casting himself as an honest broker who would implement the decision of the people. The danger is that he again falls between two stools"

Sajid Javid has been urged to confirm when Mark Carney's term as Bank of England governor will end following speculation he could be asked to stay on to deal with prolonged Brexit uncertainty.

The Chancellor has been asked by the Commons Treasury Committee to confirm whether Mr Carney's replacement will take over on February 1 as currently expected.

Mr Carney's term has already been extended twice and the Financial Times newspaper suggested his departure could be postponed again if there was a further delay to Brexit.

The cross-party legislation aimed at preventing a no-deal Brexit on October 31 called for Boris Johnson to seek a delay to the UK's departure until January 31 if no agreement had been reached with Brussels, the date currently scheduled to be Mr Carney's last at Threadneedle Street.

A general election in the autumn could also derail the process of choosing a replacement for Mr Carney.

Schools have been asked to explain their plans for ensuring there is enough food in case of a no-deal Brexit.

Education minister Lord Agnew has urged schools, councils and academy chains to contact suppliers to ensure they will be able to continue providing food if Britain leaves the EU on 31 October without a withdrawal agreement in place.

The letter, seen by the Times Educational Supplement (TES), asks the bodies to complete a survey by next week. 

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Campaigners and survivors have criticised the government for refusing to say if the new domestic abuse bill will include “life-saving” provisions that were outlined in the original legislation.

Victoria Atkins, the Home Office minister for safeguarding, would not confirm whether the new legislation will ban the cross-examination of victims by their alleged abusers despite it being a key measure in the initial bill. 

The landmark legislation included a number of provisions that domestic violence charities had spent years campaigning for. 

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