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If there is so urgent a need to respond to an emergency that there isn't time to get an Order IN Council, the Minister can* just make a Statutory Instrument suspending an Act of Parliament. It's not strictly an Order OF Council but it's what, we believe, Sir John had in mind.
We don't think there can be that emergency, we don't think there is that urgency, we don't think there is any legal basis for suspending the Benn Act, and we think a Minister who tried to would be guilty of misconduct in public office.
@GoodLawProject will shortly be issuing an Opinion drafted by leading public law Counsel dealing with these points. When it is available will make it available to the media on request. And then publish it.
The purpose of putting this Opinion into the public domain is to make it abundantly clear to any Minister contemplating arrogating to himself of herself a Henry VIII style power to suspend primary legislation that such action is unlawful - and will have personal consequences.
We at @goodlawproject are very grateful to our subscribers for helping to fund this work.
