THERE is no one, in their heart of hearts, who did not feel a little uneasy about Boris Johnson’s five week prorogation of Parliament – it clearly was intended to try and shut down Parliamentary debate.

However, politics is a dirty game, and all kinds of underhand tactics are being deployed on all sides in the Brexit battle. Lies are being told, and the public are being misled – now it seems that even the Queen is being misled.

Yesterday, the surprise was not the verdict; it was that the Supreme Court felt that it was able to adjudicate on such a political matter. Once it had decided that prorogation was judicable, the verdict was inevitable – although the full force of the unity of the judges was something to behold.

Boris Johnson is badly diminished by the verdict. It is a verdict on him, the team around him, and on their tactics – they are bullies, prepared to stop at nothing to impose their will.

In normal circumstances, Mr Johnson should resign. But these aren’t normal circumstances.

What the country needs most is to an end to chaos and a sense of progress. We have to avoid a no-deal exit, and therefore we need to get a withdrawal deal – which Mr Johnson, without producing any evidence, claims to be confident of negotiating. If that deal passes Parliament, it would be enough to get us out; if it doesn’t, it would still be able to be put to the people in a second referendum. Either way it would be a degree of progress.

Such is the diminished nature of our once proud country, for the moment, we do not wish to drive our deeply flawed Prime Minister out of office and create even greater chaos.