Boris Johnson challenges opposition parties to bring down his government

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Boris Johnson challenges opposition parties to bring down his government

Boris Johnson

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  • Boris Johnson calls on the opposition Labour party to bring down his government.
  • He challenges MPs to have a "day of reckoning" with the people.
  • The UK prime minister accuses Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of not wanting to be prime minister.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

LONDON - Boris Johnson has challenged opposition parties to bring down his government and trigger a general election after the United Kingdom's highest court found him guilty of breaking the law earlier this week.

In a House of Commons statement on Wednesday, the prime minister urged opposition members of Parliament to hold a confidence vote in his government, and said they could table a no confidence motion on Thursday.

Johnson said "this parliament does not want brexit to happen at all" and accused MPs of trying to thwart Brexit.

"The people of this country can see very clearly what is going on. The people at home know this parliament will keep delaying, it will keep sabotaging the negotiations because they don't want a deal," he said.

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Read more: 'This parliament is a disgrace': Government ministers refuse to apologise for breaking the law

Read more: 5 things we learned from the 2019 Labour Party conference

Johnson was met by a furious reaction from opposition MPs when he returned to Parliament on Wednesday.

It was his first House of Commons appearance since the Supreme Court's eleven judges unanimously agreed that his decision to prorogue Parliament for five weeks was against the law.

The prime minister said he disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling.

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"I is absolutely no disrespect to the judiciary, to say that I think the court was wrong to pronounce on what is essentially a political question at a time of great political controversy," he said.

Opposition MPs cried "resign" and "shame" as the prime minister delivered his statement.

Responding to Johnson, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he had just witnessed "ten minutes of bluster from a dangerous prime minster who believes he is above the law... and is not fit for the office he holds."

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