Following death threats a businessman from Gloucestershire is paying for security for a lawyer who fought against Boris Johnson's prorogation of Parliament.

Boris Johnson's decision was ruled to be "unlawful, void and of no effect" by the supreme court, with the decision doing nothing to quench the increasing heat around the subject of Brexit.

It preceded a white-hot session of Parliament in which MPs called on Mr Johnson to help tone down the language around Brexit they believed was pushing an already incendiary situation towards a dangerous tipping point.

For Jolyon Maugham QC, who was at the centre of the court battle, it is all very real. According to reports he has been advised to buy a stab vest and police are taking death threats against him and his family extremely seriously - keeping his home under surveillance.

Mr Maughan has hired private security, installed high-end security equipment at his home, and he also has the help of one Dale Vince, the founder of Stroud-based Ecotricity.

It has been confirmed to Punchline that Mr Vince the QC's co-litigant, who also owns Forest Green Rovers Football Club, based in Nailsworth, is footing the bill for the law firm Schillings monitor the dark web and internet for threats against the barrister.

Mr Vince did not want to comment.

Threats began during the court case. A journalist also published Mr Maugham's home address, with the QC himself being quoted as saying the situation was not helped by "an incredibly provocative quote in the media by a No 10 source attacking the people bringing the legal case and threatening the judiciary".