Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling, which found UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament “unlawful”, dominates the headlines in all the newspapers, with Tory-supporting titles expressing outrage at the judge’s decision, and most publications referring to Johnson as “humiliated” but “defiant”, as they seem to concur in appraising the current situation as one of government “chaos”.
The Guardian’s headline is:
“He misled the Queen, the people and parliament.”
According to the publication, a “humiliated” Boris Johnson was forced to “fly back to face furious MPs” but says he struck a “defiant” tone after the “crushing” verdict.
The Guardian front page, Wednesday 25 September 2019: He misled the Queen,the people and parliament pic.twitter.com/4hdeHerzeN
— The Guardian (@guardian) September 24, 2019
The FT echoes the overall sentiment, under the headline: “Johnson faces calls to resign as judges rule parliament’s closure ‘unlawful’”.
Wednesday’s FT: Johnson faces calls to resign as judges rule Parliament’a closure ‘unlawful’ #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/MPmhK0qHRz
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) September 24, 2019
As the paper referred to the court’s ruling as a “damning indictment” of the prime minister, it goes on to say that:
“A chastened Boris Johnson will fly back to London today to face calls for his resignation after the supreme court dealt a severe blow to his authority and his attempt to stop MPs from holding him to account on Brexit.”
The Express questions the ruling:
“Unlawful? What’s lawful about denying 17.4m Brexit!”
Wednesday’s EXPRESS: Unlawful? Whats unlawful about denying 17.4m Brexit! #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/KsFAWh3sDO
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) September 24, 2019
The paper calls the decision by the Supreme Court “shattering”, but reminds readers: “Let’s not forget Britain voted to quit the EU 1,189 days ago …”
The Telegraph similarly voices concern about subsequent actions that may thwart Brexit, quoting the prime minister: “Let’s be in no doubt, there are a lot of people who want to frustrate Brexit”.
Wednesday’s TELEGRAPH #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/9PvkorgXKl
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) September 24, 2019
The paper reports that Boris Johnson will try to force a general election this week “after accusing Britain’s highest court of frustrating 'the will of the people' by overruling his decision to prorogue parliament”.
The Times’s headline emphasises the current turmoil in the UK government:
“PM flies back to chaos”.
Wednesday’s TIMES: PM flies back to chaos #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/cPBOcIQOoJ
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) September 24, 2019
The paper writes that the prime minister returns from the United Nations summit in New York “facing calls to resign”, and quotes an unnamed cabinet minister who claims the ruling will mean the prime minister will be able to position himself as an "insurgent", representing the "will of the people" and taking on the establishment.
The paper highlights Johnson’s disagreement with the court decision, saying it “was part of an attempt to frustrate Brexit as senior allies attacked the decision as unconstitutional”.
Opting for a play on the Dick Emery catchphrase, The Sun’s headline is
“Ooh, you are lawful … but we don’t like you!”
The Sun front page. pic.twitter.com/OUsc9Qatec
— Kate Lyons (@MsKateLyons) September 25, 2019
The lead story offers up a reaction to the supreme court’s ruling, saying its readers “reacted with fury” and “bombarded us with messages of support for the PM”.
According to the paper:
“Many blasted the ‘unelected’ judges and hailed Boris’s battle to deliver Brexit.”
The Mirror displays a wry sense of humour as its front page features portraits of Britain’s shortest-serving prime ministers and the number of days they served in the job, with the caption alongside a photograph of Boris Johnson reading: “63 days … so far”, alongside the headline:
“There’s a special place in history waiting for you, prime minister”.
Tomorrow's front page: There's a special place in history waiting for you, Prime Minister#TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/KtNG2EuMzg pic.twitter.com/ICEQwroAlq
— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) September 24, 2019
The publication writes “Shamed Boris set for shortest term amid calls to quit,” branding Johnson’s tenure “a shambolic and disastrous turn” and denouncing the fact that “he lied to the Queen over his reasons for prorogation”.
“Boris blasts: who runs Britain?”, the Mail queries in its headline, saying that the prime minister “declared war on the judiciary last night” after the Supreme Court’s verdict.
According to the paper, the court ruling prompted fury in No 10, with one senior ally of the prime minister saying: “The effect of this is to pose the question, who runs this country? Are the courts saying they want to run the country now?”
Wednesday's @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/6HPmSKKJ5p
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) September 24, 2019
A stark front page is offered up by The Scotsman; it features a full-page photograph of Johnson’s face in black and white with the headline in red text: “Unlawful”.
Wednesday’s SCOTSMAN: Unlawful #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/P32I0UGhBR
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) September 24, 2019
The front page also contains a quote from Conservative former prime minister John Major:
“No prime minister must ever treat the monarch or Parliament in this way again.”
The UK Parliament is set to reconvene Wednesday after the Supreme Court ruled on 24 September that its suspension was unlawful, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson responding by saying he disagrees strongly with the ruling but respects the court's decision.
