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Brexit: Decision to suspend Parliament being discussed in court

boris-johnson.Image source, Getty Images
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The Supreme Court will decide whether Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament is lawful or not

At the end of August, Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a decision to suspend Parliament. He wanted to shut it down for five weeks, meaning there would be no business in Parliament until mid-October.

His decision to do this made a lot of people angry, as they said the shutdown would make it easier for the government to push through a no-deal Brexit.

Mr Johnson's team said that wasn't why Parliament was being suspended and that it was so Mr Johnson can deal with other important issues, like NHS funding.

Some people were so angry with this decision, though, that they went to court to see whether or not judges thought it was OK to do this.

Confusingly, a court in Edinburgh said that Mr Johnson's suspension of the UK Parliament was unlawful, but the High Court in London said it was a political matter and not something they should decide on.

Now, the decision has been taken to an even higher level - the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country.

What happens next?

The Supreme Court is considering the case, and is expected to give its verdict on Thursday. It will say whether or not the prime minister acted lawfully in suspending Parliament.

Boris Johnson has said he will "wait and see what the judges say" before deciding whether to recall Parliament.

Even though MPs aren't currently sitting in Parliament, they're still working and busy preparing for their party conferences.

Why was the prime minister in Luxembourg?

Meanwhile, the work to sort out Brexit continues.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Boris Johnson was meant to attend a press conference with the prime minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel

Mr Johnson went to Luxembourg on Monday to meet with Xavier Bettel - the country's prime minister - and Jean Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, to discuss a Brexit deal.

A press conference with Mr Johnson and Mr Bettel was due to happen, but the UK prime minister did not attend due to noisy protestors who were shouting and booing. Mr Johnson said it was cancelled over fears the two leaders would have been "drowned out" by the noise.

This left Xavier Bettel on his own and he made his views about Brexit very clear. He attacked Boris Johnson's approach to Brexit and called the situation a "nightmare".

Mr Johnson has said there is still a good chance of a deal, though.

What else is happening this week?

Later this week, the European Parliament will have more discussions about Brexit.

They're likely to talk about what it could mean for EU countries, and whether or not they would let the UK have more time to think about a deal.