Parliament shutdown: ‘People were a bit like, what the f*** is this? Is it even legal?’

Boris Johnson’s decision to ‘prorogue’ the British parliament sent shock waves across Europe - not least in the European parliament itself

The news hit with half of Brussels still empty from the summer lull. British prime minister Boris Johnson’s five-week suspension of parliament, reducing the ability of political opponents to challenge his Brexit plans, was received with a mixture of alarm, fatigue, and jaded hilarity. Politicians still on holidays hunched over their mobiles to figure out what was going on. Advisers and staff manning the half-empty offices puzzled over BBC News updates, as the ...