The UK government appears to have been considering suspending parliament as early as mid August, documents submitted to a Scottish court suggest.
The details emerged as a legal action aimed at halting the suspension of parliament got under way at the Court of Session - Scotland's highest civil court.
A note dated 15 August from Nikki da Costa, a former director of legislative affairs at Number 10, and seen by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his adviser Dominic Cummings, asked whether an approach should be made to prorogue parliament.
A note of "yes" was written on the document, the Court of Session in Edinburgh heard.
Mr Johnson replied the following day with a handwritten note describing the September session of parliament as a "rigmarole" designed to show MPs were "earning their crust". He added it should not be "shocking" to suspend parliament.
At the Court of Session in Edinburgh last Friday, opponents of the move to suspend parliament were denied an interim interdict to halt the prorogation of parliament by judge Lord Doherty.
A decision was made to bring a full hearing forward to today from this coming Friday after the judge ruled it would be "in the interest of justice that it proceeds sooner rather than later".
If an interim interdict had been granted it would have immediately lifted the royal order to suspend parliament.
A full interdict could still be granted by the judge.
Scotland's top law officer, the Lord Advocate, has asked to take part in today's hearing.
If James Wolffe QC's request is successful, he is expected to argue that the British government's prorogation of the Westminster parliament prevents scrutiny and represents an abuse of executive power.
Commenting on the move, the Scottish government's Constitutional Affairs Secretary Michael Russell said: "Accountable government is a fundamental principle of our democracy.
"This attempt to suspend the UK parliament at such a critical time is a clear attempt to silence opposition and must be resisted.
"The democratic wishes of the Scottish people and the Scottish parliament should not be allowed to be brushed aside as if they did not matter."
Lord Doherty will not decide on the merits of the case until he has heard legal arguments from both sides today, with a final ruling potentially being delivered tomorrow.
