Parliament suspension: Angry Commons exchanges as MPs return to work

MPs have eng
aged in angry exchanges over the government's unlawful decision to suspend Parliament.

They returned to work after the Supreme Court's historic ruling.

Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said he respected the decision, but launched a blistering attack on MPs for being "too cowardly" to hold an election, adding: "This Parliament is dead."

Mr Cox was branded a "disgrace" by one MP, while another said he was "horrified" at his language.

The SNP's Joanna Cherry urged Mr Cox to publish the legal advice he gave the government ahead of the suspension.

Ms Cherry - who was one of the lawyers who led the court challenge against the suspension or "prorogation" - said Mr Cox was being "offered up as a fall guy for the government's plans".

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The attorney general said the government believed its approach had been "both lawful and constitutional" and they had acted in "good faith" when suspending Parliament.

But Mr Cox said he would "consider over the coming days whether the public interest may require a greater disclosure" of his advice.

Boris Johnson, who has flown back from a UN summit in New York to address MPs, has said he "profoundly disagrees" with the decision of the Supreme Court, but he would respect it.

He is due to give a statement to the Commons later, along with one from the Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg.