The Counsel General for Wales, Jeremy Miles, has announced today that he is intervening in legal proceedings in the High Court supporting Gina Miller’s legal challenge to the Prime Minister’s advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
An Order in Council was made last Wednesday, on the advice of the UK government, proroguing Parliament from the second sitting week in September until 14 October.
The Welsh Government was also involved in the earlier case brought by Gina Miller in 2017 in the Supreme Court, in which the Court prevented the Government from bypassing Parliament in attempting to serve notice to leave the EU without Parliamentary authority.
Making the announcement, the Counsel General said:
“The Assembly has consented to Brexit-related legislation in Parliament which affect devolved areas on the basis that Parliament would be able to continue to sit to pass those laws.
“The prorogation of Parliament deprives MPs of the opportunity to properly scrutinise the UK Government, and to legislate the terms on which the UK leaves the EU should they wish.
“Members of the Assembly here in Wales also have a vital role to advise Parliament on how critical areas of Wales’s economy and communities will be affected by a no deal Brexit. This cannot be done if the Prime Minister has cut the lines of communication.
“I do not make this intervention lightly. As the Law Officer, I have a duty to uphold the rule of law and the constitution. The submissions I have filed at the Court are necessary, appropriate and proportionate to defend Wales interests in Parliament being allowed to sit.
“They do not replicate points made by the Claimant, Gina Miller; nor do they seek the right, at this stage, to make oral submissions. My intention is to assist the Court in deciding the legal issues, and to explain why they are of crucial importance to Wales, its people and its legislature.”