An online petition opposing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move on Wednesday to suspend parliament weeks before Brexit garnered more than one million signatures within a few hours.
On its website, the petition states “parliament must not be prorogued or dissolved unless and until” Britain’s departure from the European Union, scheduled for October 31, has been extended or canceled.
Parliamentary speaker John Bercow said Wednesday the prime minister’s move to suspend the House of Commons from mid-September until October 14 was a “constitutional outrage.”
“It is blindingly obvious” that the move is designed “to stop parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty in shaping a course for the country,” he said, with Britain due to leave the EU on October 31.