Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs have been caught staging an unusual musical protest against Brexit as the House of Commons voted on whether Theresa May should be allowed to trigger Article 50.

A group of anti-Brexit MPs sang Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” while MPs filed through the division lobbies during the crucial vote. The song is the official anthem of the European Union.

The famous piece was composed by Beethoven in 1824 as part of his 9th Symphony and uses words from an earlier poem by Friedrich Schiller. It was adopted as the official EU anthem in 1972.

A small group of SNP MPs began whistling the tune as the Commons voted on the crucial third reading of the Government’s European Union Bill. As other MPs joined in, the whistling developed into humming and then outright singing, with one MP even standing in front of the SNP benches to conduct their colleagues.

The bizarre choral protest led Lindsay Hoyle, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, to intervene, yelling: “Order!”

Addressing Patricia Gibson, the MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, he added: “Ms Gibson, it’s very good that you’re the choir but what I would say is, I personally don’t mind singing but I certainly can’t allow it in the Chamber.

Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Show all 12 1 /12 Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Brexit protest: Thousands march in London A woman poses with a home-made European Union flag as Remain supporters gather on Park Lane in London to show their support for the EU in the wake of Brexit PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Remain supporters demonstrate in Parliament Square PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Tens of thousands of people gathered to protest the result of the EU referendum PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London A majority of people in the capital voted to remain in the European Union Reuters Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Protesters chanted: “What do we want to do? Stay in the EU” PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London The march follows a similar rally in Trafalgar Square that was cancelled due to heavy rain – but which tens of thousands of people turned up to anyway Reuters Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Britain voted to leave the European Union in a referendum by 52 per cent to 48 per cent Reuters Brexit protest: Thousands march in London But support for the Leave campaign in urban areas and among young people was significantly lower Rex features Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Marchers gathered at Park Lane at 11am and marched towards Parliament Square PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Some protesters held up baguettes in a display of affection for our continental neighbours PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London The disparity between different parts of the country has promoted a four million signature petition calling for a second referendum and even a renewed push for Scotland to cede from the UK PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London The event’s organiser, King’s College graduate Kieran MacDermott, wrote: “We can prevent Brexit by refusing to accept the referendum as the final say and take our finger off the self-destruct button" Reuters

“Before we know it we could hear other tunes and I don’t want to get into that, and some of them haven’t got quite the voice…so please, I don’t want a sing-off within the Chamber.

“It’s very good of you, much appreciated, but if you could just leave it for a little while…it’s been very a tense week already, I just don’t need any extra.”