Meanwhile,
legislation compelling the prime minister to seek a Brexit delay until 31
January 2020, unless MPs approve either a deal or leaving without a deal by 19
October, received royal assent. Earlier, concerns that the prime minister, who
said he would ‘rather be dead in a ditch’ than delay Brexit past Halloween, would refuse to comply with the Act prompted former attorney general Dominic
Grieve to warn the prime minister could be sent to prison if he refused to obey
the law. Former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald also warned that
a refusal to comply with a court order to comply with the legislation would
amount to contempt of court which could result in a prison sentence.
Parliament was
prorogued shortly before 2am on Tuesday morning, with the result that several
important Bills have been dropped. These include the Trade Bill, the
Agriculture Bill and the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill.
Signalling his
disappointment, former Lord Chancellor David Gauke tweeted: ‘Divorce reform is
long overdue and the Bill had overwhelming support amongst the public and in
Parliament. I hope Parliament can return to this asap.’
Forsters
partner Jo Edwards, chair of Resolution’s family law reform group, said: ‘It’s
obviously incredibly frustrating, given the support from politicians across the
House, the judiciary, and the public, as well as Resolution members like
myself. The argument for no fault divorce has been put and won, and it’s simply
down to wider events in Westminster and elsewhere that the Bill is not
continuing its smooth passage through Parliament.’
