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UPDATE: Pound sinks as queen agrees to government request to suspend Parliament

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UPDATE: Pound sinks as queen agrees to government request to suspend Parliament

Queen Elizabeth has accepted a request from the U.K. government to suspend Parliament, making it harder for members of Parliament to block a no-deal Brexit. The British pound shed almost 1% against the U.S. dollar earlier in the day following reports of the request.

The move allows U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government to halt all parliamentary activity for more than a month before holding a Queen's Speech and declaring its future plans on Oct. 14, the prime minister's office said in a news release.

"A central feature of the legislative programme will be the Government’s number one legislative priority — if a new deal is forthcoming at European Council — to introduce a Withdrawal Agreement Bill and move at pace to secure its passage before October 31," Downing Street said.

The pound fell as low as $1.2169 as was trading 0.5% lower at $1.2235 at about 11.30 a.m. ET. It closed at $1.2033 on Aug. 9, the lowest level since 1985. Sterling weakened 0.4% to 0.9058 per euro today.

Parliament would still return as scheduled on Sept. 3, but be prorogued early the following week. That would give MPs opposed to exiting the European Union without a deal just a few days to introduce legislation forcing Johnson to ask the EU for an extension to Article 50 before the U.K.'s exit from the EU on Oct. 31.

'Last resort'

The move could force the hand of opposition MPs who plan to push forward a law to block a no-deal Brexit when Parliament returns from the summer break.

The shaky coalition, ostensibly led by Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, may seek an emergency debate to push the bill. A no-confidence vote — which could bring down the government and force a general election — also remains an option, though Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said it would be "a last resort."

Johnson denied that the aim of the suspension was to force through a no-deal Brexit. He doesn't want to wait until after Brexit "before getting on with our plans to take this country forward," and there would still be "ample time" for MPs to debate leaving the EU.

"We need new legislation. We've got to be bringing forward new and important bills and that's why we are going to have a Queen's Speech," he said.

Only a few government ministers were aware of the plan, according to BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg, who expects a great fallout as a result.

'Utterly scandalous'

Conservative backbench MP and former attorney general Dominic Grieve told BBC's Radio 5 Live: "If the prime minister persists with this and doesn't back off, then I think the chances are that his administration will collapse."

"There is plenty of time to do that if necessary [and] I will certainly vote to bring down a Conservative government that persists in a course of action which is so unconstitutional."

Deputy leader of the opposition Labour party Tom Watson said in a tweet that the move was an "utterly scandalous affront to our democracy," while Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that a failure to stop the government's move would mean that "today will go down in history as a dark one indeed for UK democracy."