ONLINE searches for the word 'prorogue' have soared since speculation that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson would ask Queen Elizabeth to prorogue, or suspend, parliament became fact.
People in Britain and Northern Ireland began typing "prorogue" into Google yesterday morning and the volume of searches peaked at 11pm last night.
Terms such as "prorogue parliament" and "prorogue petition" were the most searched for related queries.
An online petition calling for the British government not to suspend Parliament had gathered more than 1.4 million signatures by 12.30pm today.
The e-petition on Parliament's website gained 100,000 signatures in just a few hours, the threshold it needed for it to be debated by MPs.