Michael Gove has refused to apologise after the Supreme Court ruled that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament was unlawful, saying the government should not say sorry for “trying to honour the democratic will of the British people”.
The senior cabinet minister said that while he respected the Supreme Court judgement, he did not believe the government had done anything wrong by shutting down parliament.
“I think it’s only fair to point out that there’s a very respectable set of legal opinions that have pointed out, according to understanding of the law until now, what the government did was entirely lawful,” Gove told Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday.
There is “respectable legal opinion” that disagrees with the Supreme Court’s view, he added.
“I’m not criticising the Supreme Court, I would not criticise the Supreme Court – even though I disagree with that position. I’m simply pointing out that both in England and in Scotland, very senior judges took the view that this was lawful.”
Gove’s comments come the day after the UK’s highest court ruled that the prime minister’s decision to prorogue parliament was unlawful, meaning the suspension “was also void and of no effect”.
It means that MPs will return to parliament Wednesday morning, with Labour’s conference in Brighton having effectively been cut short to allow its MPs to get back to Westminster.
But asked whether the government should apologise to the Commons for its actions, Gove replied: “I think it’s only right for the government – and for all of us – to reflect on this judgement.
“And also I don’t think that the government should apologise for having a strong domestic agenda, I don’t think we should apologise also for seeking to advance our exit from the European Union.
“I don’t think the government should apologise also for saying that we’re trying to honour the democratic will of the British people.”
If voters think Johnson’s government is doing the wrong thing, MPs should call for a general election, he added.