This is a version of a speech Hugo Dixon will give in Parliament Square at the Defend our Democracy demo after 2pm today
We’ve had two fantastic victories in Parliament this week. We’ve passed a law to force Boris Johnson to ask the EU to delay Brexit so we don’t crash out. And we’ve stopped Johnson wriggling out of this law by calling a snap election.
But now Johnson is threatening to break the law.
That would would be the start of a coup. The rule of law is a core principle of our society. It is almost unthinkable that a Conservative prime minister would deliberately break it. One shudders to think about the precedent this would set. What if an even more extreme right-wing government – or for that matter an extreme left wing one – got in power and decided to break the law? We would be on the slippery slope to dictatorship.
I may be the only person in this crowd who is fond of Boris. He has been a friend for almost 50 years. So I am going to say something personal to him now:
“You’ve never really believed in Brexit. Certainly not in this extreme crash-out Brexit.
“Until just before the referendum you were sitting on the fence. Ever since that fateful day when you decided which of two articles to publish in the Telegraph, you’ve been riding a tiger. It is dragging you deeper into the heart of darkness.
“That tiger has a name. Dominic Cummings.
“He’s a Svengali figure. He’s manipulating you. He has you under his control.
“It’s time to TAKE BACK CONTROL.
“If you can’t do that, maybe, like your brother, Jo, you should resign.
“But do not, whatever you do, break the law. It’s not in the national interest. It’s not even in your interest.”