PM to tell European commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker she still plans to trigger article 50 by end of March

Theresa May is expected to tell the president of the European commission that her timetable for Brexit is still on track despite Thursday’s ruling in the high court, although a leading Conservative peer has called for a delay.

The prime minister is due to telephone Jean-Claude Juncker to say she still plans to trigger article 50 by the end of March, notwithstanding the court ruling that parliament must vote on when the process can begin.

On Friday the Welsh assembly announced that it would seek permission to intervene in any government appeal against the ruling, further complicating the Brexit process.



The Westminster government has said it will challenge the judgment in an appeal expected next month, but some senior Tories have welcomed the ruling as a boost to parliamentary sovereignty.



Announcing the Welsh government’s involvement, Mick Antoniw, an assembly member and counsel general for Wales, said he would raise concerns about May’s attempt to use royal prerogative powers to trigger Brexit.

Welsh representations consider the impact on “the legislative competence of the national assembly for Wales, the powers of Welsh ministers, the legal and constitutional relationships of the assembly to parliament and the social and economic impact on Wales”. The Scottish government is also considering whether to join in the case.



The Conservative peer Patience Wheatcroft told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it would be impossible to trigger article 50 by the end of March.

Lady Wheatcroft said: “I think it is only right to delay triggering article 50 until we have a clearer idea of what it actually entails. And I think there will be others in the Lords who feel the same way. How many I think it is hard to say, but I think there could be a majority who would be in favour of delaying article 50 until we know a little more about what lies ahead.”

The communities secretary, Sajid Javid, condemned the ruling as “unacceptable”. Speaking on the BBC’s Question Time, he said the decision “was an attempt to frustrate the will of the British people”.

But Jesse Norman, a junior minister in the Department of Industry, appeared to welcome the ruling, tweeting that it was “a reminder that we live in parliamentary and not a popular democracy”.

Jesse Norman (@Jesse_Norman) Whatever one thinks of the Art 50 judgement, it is a reminder that we live in a parliamentary and not a popular democracy 1/2

Jesse Norman (@Jesse_Norman) 2/2 and whatever people's views on Brexit, judicial independence is absolutely fundamental to democracy and the rule of law.

Ministers have acknowledged that an act of parliament could be necessary to trigger article 50.

Labour plans to use any vote to try to force the government to be more transparent about the negotiations. Jonathan Reynolds, the Labour MP for Stalybridge, said the party should respect the result of the referendum but the government should be clearer about its vision of Brexit.

Jonathan Reynolds MP (@jreynoldsMP) Just spoken to @BBCRadioManc about the Article 50 case. Got to respect the referendum result but will be v good to learn Govt strategy

The former shadow home secretary Andy Burnham confirmed he would not vote to block Brexit but wanted more say on the negotiations.

Andy Burnham (@andyburnhammp) Memo to my constituents: I will never vote to block Brexit. But I simply don't trust Boris Johnson to negotiate on behalf of the North West.

The former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said the Lib Dems would press for amendments to the article 50 bill to ensure ministers pursue a soft Brexit and guarantee that the public have a say on the final deal.

He told the Today programme that as the government had failed to spell out what Brexit means, “parliament now needs to help the government fill in the gaps”.

He said: “A bill will be presented to parliament which can, of course, like all legislation, be amended. We will seek, with other parties, in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords to amend the legislation, such that parliament would say to government that it should pursue a soft Brexit, not a hard Brexit and that there should be some means by which the British people can have a say on the final deal when the negotiations with the European Union are finally completed.”

He added: “Peers in the House of Lords will pursue exactly the same approach.”

The judges’ ruling confirms it – Brexit must go ahead, no ifs or buts | Simon Jenkins Read more

Theresa Villiers, the former Northern Ireland secretary and a prominent leave supporter, said the government should resist such amendments. “Parliament cannot expect the government to set out its negotiating hand because that would not be in the national interest, nor should it constrain the flexibility of the government to negotiate on our behalf to get the best deal,” she said.

The German MEP David McAllister, a member of Angela Merkel’s CDU party, told Today: “I think it is important that we have clarity. The prime minister announced that she will trigger article 50 in March 2017 and we should try and keep to this timetable because the two-year period should end before the next European elections, so we then have clarity if the UK will leave the European Union or not.”

He added: “The general mood in Germany is we would prefer the UK to remain part of the European Union. The Brits are very good friends and partners and neighbours for us, but we have to face reality and it was a narrow majority of the British people who decided to leave and that is what the government is going to do.

“Chancellor Merkel said in the Bundestag once ‘there is no need to be nasty’. That means there is no need to punish the British, but on the other hand there is no need for favourable treatment. We have got to be firm on our principles. The UK government have their own interests, let’s find a good deal.”