Johnson to 'see what judges say' on recalling Parliament

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that he would "wait and see what the judges say" before deciding whether to recall Parliament.

Johnson's remarks to the BBC on Monday came a day before the UK Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear two appeals that will determine whether the Prime Minister acted lawfully in suspending Parliament for five weeks.

Johnson said he had the "greatest respect for the judiciary", and its independence "is one of the glories of the UK".

"And I think the best thing I can say, having said that, is to wait and see what they say," he told the BBC.

Asked again if he would be ready to recall Parliament if that was what the Supreme Court said he ought to do, he said: "I think the best thing I could do is wait and see what the judges say."

The hearing is scheduled to last until Thursday.

Regarding the development, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told the BBC that whatever the Supreme Court's decision, the "robust independence of our judiciary" must be respected.

"It would be wrong of me to anticipate what their lordships might say. I'd simply say this: We will examine the ruling very carefully and abide by the rule of law."

Scotland's highest civil court, the Court of Session, last week found in favour of a cross-party group of politicians who were challenging the Prime Minister's move and ruled that Johnson's suspension of Parliament was unlawful.

Earlier on Monday, Johnson visited Luxembourg for Brexit talks, but the European Union (EU) said it was yet to see concrete proposals.

Johnson pulled out of a joint press conference with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, blaming noisy protesters.

After Johnson pulled out of the joint press conference, the Luxembourg Prime Minister proceeded to appear at the conference alone and attacked his British counterpart's approach to Brexit, calling the situation a "nightmare".

A UK government source said on Monday that the gap the UK and Brussels needed to bridge to achieve a Brexit deal "remains quite large".