The writer of dramas about Brexit, the Labour Party and the Jim Callaghan government of the 1970s imagines how the TV show charting the life of the Queen will tackle this latest development in British politics...

BBC Radio 5 Live

Conservative MP Pauline Latham, who has supported the idea of no deal in some circumstances, said her colleagues campaigning against Boris Johnson's prorogation do not want Brexit to happen.

"We have debated [Brexit] exhaustedly over the last three years and I think we ought to come to a conclusion," the MP for Mid Derbyshire said.

"When [Mr Johnson] comes back with a deal from Brussels - which I hope he will get - we can discuss it and we will be able to debate it with plenty of time before 31 October, and then hopefully get it through," she told 5 Live.

"If he comes back with no deal...we still have to vote it through becuase we have to deliver for the people of this country."

Image source, EPA

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson has written to the Queen to express her "concern at Boris Johnson’s anti-democratic plan to shut down Parliament, and to request an urgent meeting".

She accuses the prime minister of "arrogantly" trying to force through a no-deal Brexit "against the democratic will".

"He is outrageously stifling the voices of both the people and their representatives," she says.

"We must take all measures necessary to avoid a disastrous no-deal Brexit, for which there is no mandate," she says.

"This is an unelected prime minister trying to use an unconstitutional means to drive through a policy for which there is no mandate," says the leader of Plaid Cymru Adam Price.

He argues that the prime minister's policy will "disembowel Parliament" and "silence voices".

"We were already going through dark times, it has got even darker now," he says.

"Opposition parties have got to hold our nerve now - we have to defend our country against this reckless, irresponsible prime minister."

Rory Stewart, who stood in the Tory leadership contest against Mr Johnson, argued against forcing through a no-deal Brexit.

BBC News Channel

Conservative Brexiter John Redwood denies the PM's move to suspend Parliament is designed to thwart attempts to block no deal, insisting it is about the new government announcing a "new programme".

He says the suspension - or prorogation - does not curb the sovereignty of Parliament, as MPs still have the power to bring down the PM in a no-confidence vote.

"If they really do think this is wrong, and they have a majority to establish it's wrong, they should table a no-confidence motion on the first day back," he says.

"I don't think it's increased the risk of bringing the government down, they've been trying to bring the government down ever since it formed - but it doesn't look as if they know how to."

Speaker John Bercow has added his voice to the chorus of disapproval for proroguing Parliament. But it's far from his first word on the matter.

In June, he told MPs: "Parliament will not be evacuated from the centre stage of the decision-making process on his important matter. That's simply not going to happen. It's just so blindingly obvious that it almost doesn't need to be stated but apparently it does and therefore I have done."

Mr Bercow has forged a reputation for taking a flexible approach to parliamentary procedure, arguing that it's his role to defend Parliament.

The Speaker's role in prorogation is to attend the House of Lords chamber to listen to the prorogation announcement being made. Back in the Commons, his job is to read out the same announcement to MPs.

Given his objections to proroguing Parliament, how he will manage his role in these rituals remains to be seen.

John Pienaar
BBC Radio 5 Live

For many political journalists, today's news brought an early end to their summer break.

I was asked to come into work about three seconds after my flight home from holiday touched down at Gatwick this morning.

On prorogation, we're talking about five weeks of Parliamentary business being basically cut away.

Now, a lot of that time would have been taken up by the party political conferences - and it's argued by those on Boris Johnson's side that it's just business as usual.

But normally, precedent can inform what's going on before you. In this case, precedent is of no real use because we haven't been here before.

The Labour leader said the prime minister needed to be “held to account by Parliament" and must not be allowed to shut it down.

Jeremy Corbyn has written to the Queen to protest about the PM's plan, saying it was “not acceptable” and “not on”.

He asked what Boris Johnson was “so afraid of”, and added there would be a motion of confidence in the PM “at some point”.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Image source, UK PARLIAMENT

Dr Phillip Lee, former justice minister and Conservative MP for Bracknell, resigned 15 months ago over the Brexit process and "the government’s wish to limit Parliament’s role in contributing to the final outcome".

But he told BBC Radio 4: "I actually welcome this prorogation in one way in that I think it's making people really, truly think about what they're going to do stop what I think would be a disgrace, which is delivering a no deal without the further explicit consent of a no-deal Brexit."

"If Parliament wants to stop this, it can," he added.

Image source, Reuters

The European Commission has been tight-lipped on Mr Johnson's request to prorogue Parliament, with a spokesperson earlier declining to comment on "internal political procedures".

But the European Parliament's Brexit spokesman, Guy Verhofstadt, has criticised the move, expressing "solidarity with those fighting for their voices to be heard".

"Suppressing debate on profound choices is unlikely to help deliver a stable future EU - UK relationship," he wrote on Twitter.

"Taking back control' has never looked so sinister," he added.

Scotland's first minister says Boris Johnson is acting like a "tin pot dictator" by deciding to suspend Parliament, and urges him to "bring an election on".

Nicola Sturgeon says the PM's move was “not democracy", adding: "This is dictatorship."

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Speaking on the World at One, BBC political editor Laura Kuennsberg explained: "The context of this move is absolutely extraordinary because [Mr Johnson] faces a hypothetical majority in Parliament that would try to stop him taking us out of EU without a deal, and doing this - by trying to squeeze the amount of time MPs have to plot against that - is something that, no surprise, is meeting howls of outrage."

She described today's news as the beginning of a "constitutional showdown".

Although it is not impossible for MPs to change the law to prevent a no-deal Brexit, it has made it much harder, she added.

She also thinks it has become more likely that a vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson could be launched next week - but believes it's still unlikely because MPs are not sure they have the numbers.