The week in which Dominic Raab’s leadership campaign was prorogued – it’s Johnson v Hunt…

…but on a more serious note, proroguing Parliament could give rise to a “Catch-22” situation. Raab had said that he did not rule out proroguing Parliament until the 31 October Article 50 deadline had passed. However, as the Institute for Government noted in a recent post: “[i]f Parliament was prorogued to facilitate no deal, it would not be possible to pass any bills or remaining secondary legislation needed to prepare the UK statute book for such an outcome. It would also prevent the Government from legislating to change the ‘exit day’ currently legislated for in the EU Withdrawal Act and give effect to any new extension to Article 50”.

Religious beliefs and employment again 

Judgments were handed down in two linked cases: Page v NHS Trust Development Authority [2019] UKEAT 0183 18 1906, and Page v Lord Chancellor & Anor [2019] UKEAT 0304 18 1906. Mr Richard Page, a practising Christian, was a lay magistrate sitting on family cases involving adoption decisions. As a matter of religious belief, he was opposed to children being adopted by single parents or same-sex couples – and said so in various media interviews. He was removed from his position as a magistrate and he was also suspended by the NHS Trust of which he was a Non-Executive Director and his appointment terminated. He sued the Lord Chancellor and the Trust – unsuccessfully in both cases.

We hope to publish a note later in the week. Continue reading →