LONDON: The month-long suspension of the British parliament ordered by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in an apparent bid to stop MPs blocking his Brexit strategy will begin late Monday, his spokesman said.

“Parliament will be prorogued at close of business today,” the spokesman said, using the parliamentary term for the suspension.

He added it would take place regardless of the outcome of a government-led vote on holding a snap election next month.

Johnson last month asked Queen Elizabeth II to close the Houses of Parliament until October 14, claiming it was needed to allow him to introduce a new domestic agenda.

But the suspension´s timing and longer than unusual duration sparked uproar across the political spectrum, with critics calling it a “constitutional outrage” and a coup.

Lawmakers opposed to a no-deal Brexit said it was clearly aimed at hobbling their efforts to prevent suc