A petition to stop the prorogation of Parliament has gained more than 70,000 signatures.

"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," the petition reads, external.

Numerous MPs have suggested calling a vote of no confidence in the government next week in a bid to prevent a no-deal exit from the EU - but how does it work?

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A cross-party group of more than 70 MPs and peers are considering seeking an interim interdict in the Court of Session in to block prorogation of Parliament.

The Court of Session is Scotland's supreme civil court.

Scottish Labour MP Ian Murray says Boris Johnson's plan to suspend Parliament is "an assault on our democracy".

"This is the people's parliament and the people deserve to have their representatives in Parliament during this vital period," Mr Murray says.

"Legal action to prevent the prime minister suspending Parliament has already been fast-tracked through the courts and the legal team will now consider the appropriate next steps, including seeking interim orders."

• Brexit: MPs ask Scottish court to block Westminster shutdown - BBC News

The EU is unlikely to get involved in the UK government plan to suspend Parliament for a few weeks, the BBC's Brussels correspondent says.

Adam Fleming explains Brussels would see it as a domestic matter, although an unnamed diplomat had told him that the EU was "never going to chance its position”.

He added the EU was already "quite suspicious" there would be enough time for the UK Parliament to approve a new Brexit deal and pass the legislation and laws needed before 31 October.

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Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party accuses the PM of "abusing the constitution".

"I think people should be on the streets. This is a constitutional outrage," he says.

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Boris Johnson has taken the step of writing to all of the MPs who sit in the House of Commons, outlining his plans to ask for a suspension of Parliament in the first half of September.

You can read that letter in full here.

Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor

This has been an extraordinarily long Parliamentary session, and governments have the right to shut up shop and return to announce their proposals in a new one with all the golden carriages, fancy Westminster costumes, banging of doors and splendour that goes with it.

But that new timetable means Parliament will be suspended for longer than had been expected - likely now to be prorogued, to use the technical term, around 10 September, instead of going into recess on 14 September ahead of conference season.

It's only a matter of days. But those are days that might matter enormously, because the crucial and controversial political side effect is that MPs will have less time to try to change the law to stop Boris Johnson taking the UK out of the EU if he can't agree a new deal with Brussels by the end of October.

Read Laura's blog here.

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The Lib Dem's Brexit spokesman Tom Brake says MPs will start trying to block Boris Johnson's "attempt to ram through something he has absolutely no mandate for" on 3 September - the first day MPs return to Parliament.

He says emergency legislation could be passed in a couple of days.

"I would expect on Tuesday to see some steps taken to bring forward a legislative option."

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The prime minister has received support from DUP leader Arlene Foster.

Mrs Foster welcomes the decision and highlights that the agreement between the DUP and the Conservatives will be reviewed in advance of the new session.

The DUP has propped up a minority Conservative government since the 2017 general election, when it agreed the deal with Mr Johnson's predecessor Theresa May.

"This will be an opportunity to ensure our priorities align with those of the government," she says.

Scott Lucas, Politics Professor at the University of Birmingham, tells the BBC that this is "the most serious political situation for Britain since 1945”.

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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says Boris Johnson's plan to suspend Parliament is "an outrage and a threat to our democracy".

“I am appalled at the recklessness of Johnson’s government, which talks about sovereignty and yet is seeking to suspend parliament to avoid scrutiny of its plans for a reckless no-deal Brexit. This is an outrage and a threat to our democracy.

“That is why Labour has been working across Parliament to hold this reckless government to account, and prevent a disastrous No Deal which parliament has already ruled out.

“If Johnson has confidence in his plans he should put them to the people in a general election or public vote.”

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The BBC's business presenter Ben Thompson says: "The markets are trying to work out what the heck is going on and what happens next.

"Where we have seen an impact is that the pound has fallen against the dollar and the euro.

"That is because there is so much uncertainty about whether there will be a deal.

"As the pound falls in value, it makes the earnings of the FTSE companie - the main 100 companies in the UK - look much better."

Former Tory MP Nick Boles tweets that the prorogation should "stiffen backbones" and convince MPs to support legislative steps to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Jonny Dymond
BBC royal correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Talk of the politicisation of the Queen is wide of the mark. It is clear what her constitutional duty is.

Our constitution is based on precedent, on what has been done before. There is established precedent for proroguing Parliament before the Queen’s Speech, albeit generally more briefly, and rarely, if ever, at such a constitutionally charged time.

Had the government attempted to prorogue Parliament in another circumstance there may have been more questions about what the Queen should do.

Queen Elizabeth is a conservative woman, who believes in tradition, and has been a conservative monarch, unwilling to interfere in domestic politics.

Talk of what happened in centuries previous to Queen Elizabeth’s reign is misplaced. Power has steadily flowed from the monarch to the executive, the government of the day.

It is "Her Majesty’s Government" in name only. She exists, constitutionally, to take the advice of her ministers, of the prime minister.

The Queen will prorogue Parliament if she is asked to.

First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford claim the PM wants to "close the doors" on democracy.

Pro-EU politicians in Wales have reacted angrily to the news Boris Johnson has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament in September..

It means it could be more difficult for MPs to stop a no-deal Brexit.

But Montgomeryshire Conservative MP Glyn Davies has dismissed claims it amounts to a "coup".

Read more reaction from Wales here.

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"This is very good news," says Guido Fawkes journalist Tom Harwood.

"It is what Brexiteers up and down the country have been hoping for," he says.

"We've got a PM who is on our side and prepared to take on the coalition of politicians trying to frustrate the will of the people."

BBC Radio 5 Live

Labour MP Bill Esterson says the prime minister's move to suspend Parliament is "profoundly undemocratic".

He adds: "This is from the party, from the man, who promised this was all about bringing back control and bringing sovereignty back to the UK Parliament - and the first thing he does as prime minister is to ask for Parliament to be suspended.

"We all know what this is really about - this is about avoiding scrutiny of the disaster of a reckless no-deal Brexit.

"It really is profoundly undemocratic, it is a slippery slope, a dangerous road to embark on to undermine the democratic institutions, the accountability of Parliament - the democratically elected Parliament."