Theresa May considered suspending parliament but rejected 'un-Conservative' idea, ex-cabinet minister reveals

'I have sat in three cabinets under three different prime ministers, and this level of confrontation with parliament I have never seen before'

Amber Rudd has revealed Theresa May considered suspending parliament, but ruled out the idea as the "wrong approach" and "un-Conservative".

The ex-cabinet minister, who quit the Tory whip and government at the weekend, made the remarks as Boris Johnson was accused of misleading the Queen about his motives for proroguing parliament.

It comes after Scotland's highest civil court ruled on Wednesday that the prime minister's decision to shut the doors of Westminster on MPs for a five-week period was "unlawful".

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case next week, and Mr Johnson will be forced to reverse his decision to suspend parliament if the panel of nine judges rule against Downing Street.

Recalling cabinet-level discussions during Ms May's beleaguered premiership, Ms Rudd, who was work and pensions secretary until Saturday, said: "Under Theresa May we did briefly look at the idea of prorogation."

But, she went on: "It was dismissed because we knew it would be the wrong approach, the wrong way to treat a parliament full of representatives of their own communities.

"This level of confrontation, I think, is unwelcome. I think it is a mistake. I think, as politicians and Conservatives, we should be looking to find the compromise and using persuasion and intelligence to try and find that compromise."

Ms Rudd told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme: "I am surprised, and I think it is a very un-Conservative thing to be doing. I have sat in three cabinets under three different prime ministers, and this level of confrontation with parliament I have never seen before."

Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, also accused the government of "trashing the constitution" and said the Conservative Party was no longer a party he recognised.

But speaking on Thursday, the prime minister denied lying to Queen over his reasons for suspending parliament.

Asked whether he had misled the monarch after the Court of Session in Edinburgh said advice given by ministers to the Queen which led to her rubber-stamping the five-week prorogation was unlawful, Mr Johnson replied: "Absolutely not."

He continued: "The High Court in England plainly agrees with us but the Supreme Court will have to decide.

"We need a Queen's Speech, we need to get on and do all sorts of things at a national level. Parliament will have time both before and after that crucial [EU] summit on 17 October and 18 to talk about the Brexit deal."