Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd has said she will urge Boris Johnson not to suspend Parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit against the will of MPs.

Ms Rudd said she would tell the Prime Minister that the House of Commons cannot be ignored in order to secure what she described as a “far inferior” no-deal scenario.

Mr Johnson has refused to rule out taking the controversial measure as part of his “do or die” commitment to take the UK out of the European Union by October 31.

The step – known as proroguing Parliament – is viewed as highly-controversial, with critics saying it could drag the UK into a constitutional crisis and involve the Queen in a political row.

Ms Rudd told the BBC: “Well, I remain a great admirer of Parliament and of parliamentary sovereignty and I will continue to argue for the executive of the Government that I’m part of to work with Parliament, not against them.

“I will play my part in Cabinet and privately with the Prime Minister and with ministers in arguing strongly for respecting parliamentary sovereignty. And you know, I’m a Member of Parliament, the Prime Minister and all Cabinet members are Members of Parliament, we need to remember where our authority comes from.”

Her comments came as a judge agreed to fast-track a hearing over whether Mr Johnson can legally prorogue Parliament, so that the case can be heard before the Halloween deadline.

More than 70 MPs and peers are calling on Scottish courts to rule that the step would be “unlawful and unconstitutional”.