Theresa May is facing a constitutional crisis after House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said that there is an “arguable case” that the Government acted in contempt of Parliament by not releasing the full legal advice in relation to their Brexit deal.
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, who is the Government’s chief legal adviser, published an overview of the advice on Monday, but opposition parties said that only revealing this limited information defied a binding Commons vote which demanded they release the full advice.
Downing Street claims that publishing the information would not be in the national interest. The joint letter to The Speaker on Monday evening which started contempt of Parliament proceedings was signed by representatives from the Labour Party, the DUP, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru.
MPs found in contempt of Parliament face the threat of being suspended or expelled from the House of Commons. A debate and vote on the motion will take place at the start of the House of Commons’ sitting on Tuesday.
The motion comes amid pressure for PM Theresa May who is trying to secure support for her Brexit deal, which will be voted on next week.
