REDDITCH MP Rachel Maclean has come out in support of Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament.

Earlier today the Queen granted Boris Johnson's request to temporarily close down the Commons from the second week of September until October 14 when there will be a Queen's Speech to open a new session of Parliament.

The move was immediately met with widespread anger. Opposition leaders have written to the monarch in protest and Commons Speaker John Bercow said the move was a "constitutional outrage" designed to stop Parliament debating Brexit.

A petition demanding the move be stopped had hit 500,000 signatures, less than seven hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the measure.

However Mrs Maclean issued a statement today supporting the Prime Minister's decision.

"The current session of Parliament has lasted 340 days, in almost 400 years of tradition this is by far the longest session, and recently we MPs have not had much significant legislation to debate as a result," she wrote.

"The public expect us to deal with new challenges of government and so a new session is needed for the government to introduce key legislation on the NHS, to fight violent crime, invest in infrastructure and science and cut the cost of living.

"We would under normal circumstances not be sitting during the “Conference Recess” and the decision today extends this Conference recess by just one week.

"Clearly we need to address the question of leaving the European Union on the 31st October, and much progress has been made in the negotiations already.

"There will be ample time to debate and vote on the outcome of these negotiations in Parliament following the meeting of the EU Council on 17/18 October. I hope and expect that the Prime Minister will be able to get the EU to come to a sensible position and make changes to the backstop – the sticking point in the Withdrawal Agreement – so that a deal can then be ratified in Parliament."

Mrs Maclean previously supported Theresa May's unsuccessful Brexit deal and urged Mr Johnson to play 'hardball' while negotiating a new deal with the EU.

"I continue to believe that a deal, which is after all hugely in the interest of the other EU member states, will be negotiated and the Prime Minister has my full support for this task," she said.

"However, if a deal can’t be agreed then we must leave on October 31st without a deal."