Petition against Parliament’s suspension reaches 700,000 signatures

A petition demanding that moves to suspend the UK Parliament are halted has hit more than 300,000 signatures, meaning it will be considered for debate by MPs.

The petition on Parliament's website amassed the number required less than three hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he planned to prorogue Parliament in order to push through his new domestic agenda.

Any petition that secures 10,000 signatures is guaranteed a government response and 100,000 names sees the petitions committee consider it for debate by MPs.

As this edition went to press, the petition had secured nearly 700,000 signatures including 247 from Gibraltar.

The petition, which was created by Mark Johnston on the UK Parliament's website, states that Parliament should not be prorogued unless there is another extension of the Brexit deadline or the idea of leaving the European Union is scrapped altogether.

It says: "Parliament must not be prorogued or dissolved unless and until the Article 50 period has been sufficiently extended or the UK's intention to withdraw from the EU has been cancelled."