MPs will get vote after talks are over

IT is ‘very likely’ that MPs will be given a vote on Brexit once the negotiations for leaving the EU are complete, a Government lawyer said yesterday.

James Eadie QC made the concession during the final day of a court case brought by Remain campaigners who want to stop Theresa May from triggering Article 50, the two-year notice period for leaving the EU.

The group, led by wealthy businesswoman Gina Miller, say MPs should have the chance to block the mechanism.

Mrs May is fiercely contesting the claim – arguing that the British public spoke in the June 23 referendum and that nobody should be allowed to thwart the will of the people.

But Mr Eadie told the High Court that, once a new deal has been agreed with Brussels, it was ‘very likely’ it will have to be ratified by Parliament. He said the ‘view at the moment’ was that this process was likely if the royal prerogative was used to launch the Brexit process.

Crucially, the vote would take place after Article 50 had been triggered and EU negotiations were complete.

Pro-Brussels campaigners who brought the court case claim that triggering Article 50 without a vote by MPs would deprive them of their statutory rights granted under the European Communities Act 1972, which made EU rules part of UK law.

However, Mr Eadie told the court there would still be scrutiny. He argued that a minister using the royal prerogative to trigger Article 50 without prior parliamentary approval would only be ‘firing the starting gun’ for the Brexit process, and it would not of itself change any common law or statutory right enjoyed by citizens.

Mr Eadie said: ‘Any such changes are a matter for future negotiations, parliamentary scrutiny and implementation by legislation.’

Downing Street later confirmed that he was stating the official position of the Government.

At one stage of proceedings, the Lord Chief Justice had said he was ‘baffled’ by a point made by the Government’s legal team.

Jason Coppel QC, for the Government, said Britain’s withdrawal from the EU would not necessarily have a serious impact on Britons living elsewhere in Europe. A group of British expats living in France has said they would lose some rights, including the ability to vote in local elections in France, because of Brexit.

Lord Thomas, the most senior judge in England and Wales, questioned which rights came from domestic law and which from European legislation, adding: ‘I am sorry, I am slightly baffled.’

In a lengthy exchange, Mr Coppel said the expats might lose the right to vote abroad, but argued that was not because of a change to UK domestic law, and therefore did not require a vote in Parliament.

The ‘baffled’ comments were seized on by some Remain campaigners as a sign the Government may be about to lose the court case – but experts said the comment related to just one obscure part of the case. The final verdict will be published at a later date.