High Court challenge to Brexit process succeeds
Ruling says MPs, not just PM, must approve Article 50 process
Government to appeal against decision
Bank of England raises 2017 UK growth forecast
Reality Check
The claim: The court ruling that the government cannot use prerogative powers to trigger Article 50 could scupper Brexit.
Reality check verdict: The process of obtaining parliamentary approval may delay or complicate the process but it is hard to imagine that Parliament could ignore the outcome of the referendum.
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith says the High Court judges' ruling was "unequivocal in backing the case made by the complainants".
This means the prime minister has "lost control of the timing and approach" to the UK's Brexit negotiations.
The implication is that Article 50 can only be triggered by an Act of Parliament, Norman says.
But because legislation can take many months to go through Parliament, Theresa May's ambition of triggering Article 50 by the end of March "will go out of the window".
Norman says critical MPs may use the opportunity to table amendments that could urge the UK to stay part of the single market.
He says the fear, the row, the controversy is not over the vote - because even those MPs who were quite hostile to Brexit claim they will vote for triggering Article 50 as to do anything else "would be a slap in the face to the British public".
Norman says the only way government can get through this painlessly is if it consults parliament in a one-off vote in an afternoon.
Ladbrokes says it's now 2/1 that the Article 50 Brexit process doesn't happen before 2021, or at all. It was once 5/1. The odds of a 2017 general election have also been cut to 2/1.
Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor
Image source, Getty ImagesThe three bewigged government lawyers looked glum as the clock ticked towards 10 in Court Four in the Royal Courts of Justice.
They had good reason to. The High Court chucked out the government's argument that they had the power to start the process of leaving the EU without consulting MPs.
That's a serious problem for Theresa May, who wanted to be able to start the legal machinations of Article 50 without the hassle and political risk of going through Parliament.
MPs have already shown they are willing to be difficult over Brexit, or flex every muscle of scrutiny (depending which way you look at it).
And with a tiny majority in Parliament and most MPs having argued Remain, this judgement spells real trouble for ministers.
An emboldened Parliament is the last thing Mrs May needs when faced with the enormous complexities of taking us out of the EU. But sovereignty is what the country voted for in the referendum.
The High Court says that Parliament's sovereignty is what we've got.
The legal process will now grind on. The government is appealing at the Supreme Court.
But the machinations could well delay the government's plans and, with a braver Parliament able to make life more difficult, might the temptation of an early election become too much to resist?
The only way of making this headache go away could be a general election.
Conservative MEP tweets...
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Professor A C Grayling, Master, New College of the Humanities has said the UK Parliament should have a vote on Article 50 on the grounds that the referendum was advisory. A point which was picked up in the court's judgement:
He said:
Quote MessageThe judgment of the High Court in the Article 50 case gives hope to everyone who wishes to see the UK remain part of the EU. In a Parliamentary debate on the matter, a free vote should be allowed so that those MPs who believe that continued EU membership is in the UK's interest can act according to that conviction. It is undoubtedly the case that they will now have a substantial and genuine majority of the country with them."
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More from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on the Article 50 ruling. He told the BBC, during a visit to Nottingham:
Quote MessageIt’s being appealed by the government so we don’t know the outcome of that appeal but what it does mean is that Parliament is going to have to take a decision when the government finally comes up with what its bottom line is on Article 50 clauses. Parliament has to have a say and this is a crucial decision for the future of this country. We’re going to be looking at the issue of market access to Europe, looking at the future of the manufacturing industry, looking at the access of finance services to Europe and of course crucially workplace regulations, environmental regulations and consumer rights. It could delay things of course. Speculation about a general election is always with us.”
House of Commons
Parliament
Image source, AFP/Getty ImagesMembers of Iraqi pro-government forces drive towards the South of Mosul
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is now making a statement on the campaign to defeat so-called Islamic State.
He tells MPs that the campaign is making good progress and that forces have struck as far as the "outskirts of Mosul".
However he adds that IS have mounted "fierce resistance and have threatened to carry out a "scorched earth" policy.
He warns that gains will only be preserved if they are followed by the "painstaking task of stabilisation".
BBC Radio 5 live
Prime Minister Theresa May will be “secretly grateful” for the High Court’s ruling allowing Parliament a vote on leaving the EU, Tim Farron has claimed.
The Liberal Democrat leader said the decision would help the PM to “have a plan” with “proper scrutiny”, rather than “[jumping] out of an aeroplane without a parachute”.
Mr Farron also told BBC Radio 5 live’s Emma Barnett there was “no will of the people for the country to go for hard Brexit” and triggering Article 50 without “consent” would “rob the British people of democracy”.
Commons Speaker John Bercow has indicated he is open to all-night sittings to debate Brexit, the Press Association reports.
Conservative former cabinet minister Ken Clarke asked Commons Leader David Lidington to consider suspending the usual time rules for sittings in order to guarantee "open-ended" debates.
Late night and all-night sittings have been a feature in Parliament's past, with Mr Lidington stating these would not be the "right way" to deal with Brexit.
But speaking in the Commons, Mr Bercow said:
Quote MessageThe House will decide its sitting hours and that's a matter for colleagues, pursuant to what [Mr Clarke] has said. I simply underline the point that I'm the servant of the House, and whatever hours the House wants to sit to debate important matters I'm very happy to be in the chair."
BBC News Channel
Former Conservative leader and Leave campaigner Iain Duncan Smith says allowing the Commons a vote on Article 50 could spark a "constitutional crisis" between Parliament and the public.
He accused the courts of being "in danger of telling Parliament how it should go about doing its business".
And he warned that if MPs voted down the triggering of Article 50, they will be going against the will of the people.
It would be "an act of stupidity" if the government was forced to lay out its negotiating stance over Article 50, he said.
And he stressed that MPs will have a chance to have their say on the issue, particularly during the repeal of the 1972 European Communities Act, which legislated for the UK's accession into the Common Market.
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Keir Starmer says the Prime Minister is trying to "avoid scrutiny" in trying to trigger Article 50 without a vote in parliament. He tells the BBC's Mark Mardell that the government should "urgently review their approach now".
The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has described the High Court judgement on Article 50 as being "of major significance for the future of this country".
Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, chairman of the Bar, said: "Irrespective of what happens next, the Bar Council’s Brexit Working Group, external, which we set up within days of the referendum result, will continue to assess the implications of any future relationship with the European Union, both in relation to the public interest, as well as, the interests of the legal profession. We will continue to make our views known to government and parliament.”
Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor
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Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer says the courts have had to remind Prime Minister Theresa May "that parliament is sovereign".
He says government has made it clear it wants to build a national consensus about its approach to Brexit negotiations, adding: "There's nothing wrong with the House of Commons saying: 'We need to know the approach you're taking.'"
Richard Tice, co-chairman of Brexit pressure group Leave Means Leave, said: "This is disgraceful - 17.4 million people will be furious today.
"Our democracy is being damaged by an elite band of people in the legal system."
He added: "A vote in Parliament is wholly unnecessary, time-consuming and betrays the democratic will of the people."
He accused the High Court claimants of being "a metropolitan band" who have been "playing games" with the Brexit issue.
He urged MPs to "follow the will of the people" if the matter goes to a vote.
The Bank of England has upgraded its growth forecast for next year but has said that things will be worse in 2018. With inflation also creeping back, a squeeze on living standards and a rise in interest rates could be ahead.
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