Two senior Kent MPs have clashed over the suspension of Parliament - with one saying that complaints about coups and despots are massively overblown.

The former business minister Greg Clark has joined the backlash over the move by Boris Johnson to shut down Parliament.

The Tunbridge Wells MP said the importance of the issue meant MPs should be allowed to debate the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU.

He tweeted: “Parliament should be sitting more, not less, during the crucial weeks ahead including during the conference recess. A Queen’s Speech, with a new domestic programme, is welcome but it should not be used to curtail scrutiny by Parliament.”

But another MP played down the complaints that the government was trying to narrow the opportunities for opponents to act.

Ashford MP Damian Green, who was de facto deputy Prime Minister to previous Prime Minister Theresa May, posted a series of tweets saying the complaints were “massively overblown”.

He accused those criticising the Prime Minister exaggerating the impact of the suspension:

And South Thanet MP Crag Mackinlay, a prominent Brexiteer, accused those trying to block the shutting down of Parliament of "false outrage."

It comes as the Prime Minister was facing renewed criticism over the prorogation of Parliament.

A petition calling for the government to scrap the plan saw the number of signatories reach 1.3m and campaigners prepared to stage protests later today in Canterbury, Ramsgate and Dover.

Labour activists planned a protest outside the office of the Canterbury Conservative Association office later this evening.

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