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As it happenedended

Brexit legal challenge live: British citizens will lose rights through EU withdrawal, Supreme Court told

A third day of arguments has been made in the Brexit Supreme Court appeal

Siobhan Fenton
London
Wednesday 07 December 2016 05:22 EST
Comments
Brexit at the supreme court: Day Three

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Gina Miller's legal representative has outlining the case against the Government in day three of the four day Supreme Court appeal on Brexit.

Lord Pannick QC represented Ms Miller and told the court Theresa May does not have sufficient authority to trigger Article 50 and instead the case must go to MPs.

Representing fello claimant Deir Dos Santos, a hairdresser born in Brazil, QC Dominic Chambers told the court only parliament has the power to take away British citizens' rights, which EU withdrawal would inevitably do.

The court was also told both Scotland and Northern Ireland must approve triggering Article 50 before the Government does so. A majority of people in Scotland (62 per cent) and Northern Ireland (56 per cent) voted to Remain.

The day before, while the court was sitting, Ms May announced during a visit to the Gulf that she will reveal her Brexit plans before triggering Article 50, in what appears to be a signifcant U-turn on her previous position.

Catch up on everything that happened in court today:

The Prime Minister has previously said she plans to trigger Article 50 by the end of this Spring.

If MPs are entitled to vote on Article 50, it could delay Brexit considerably or ensure it is a 'soft Brexit' rather than a 'hard Brexit' as politicians could insist protectionist clauses are inserted before EU withdrawal.

The Supreme Court case is expected to last four days.

A judgment is anticipated for early in the new year.

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JolyonMaugham5 December 2016 14:16

James Eadie tells the court that CRAG (Constitutional Reform and Governance Act) leaves the issue of withdrawal for the government to decide

Siobhan Fenton5 December 2016 14:24

Judges seem quite sceptical about this and are pushing him to explain in clear detail

Siobhan Fenton5 December 2016 14:24

Lords questioning Eadie on the origins of CRAG and whether it really is comparable for Brexit. He promises he'll give a full reply tomorrow

Siobhan Fenton5 December 2016 14:26

Weakest legal point ever. twitter.com/JolyonMaugham/…

davidallengreen5 December 2016 14:38

Lord Sumption keeps pushing this point with the government's lawyer- does the crown ever have power to use its prerogative to affect laws?

Siobhan Fenton5 December 2016 14:40

This is a crucial point as, of course, this case doesn't just impact on Brexit but looks at the fundamental principle of who holds power...

Siobhan Fenton5 December 2016 14:40

... between parliament, the crown and the courts.

Siobhan Fenton5 December 2016 14:41

Another key q from judges- if entering EU was a joint enterprise between executive and legislative, shouldn't leaving it be too?

Siobhan Fenton5 December 2016 14:43

Government's lawyer seems to be stumbling on this point, hasn't offered a compelling response twitter.com/SiobhanFenton/…

Siobhan Fenton5 December 2016 14:46

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