Koen Lenaerts, pictured, president of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), said he 'expects to intervene' in Brexit

The EU’s top court is on a collision course with Downing Street after its president said he expects to intervene in Brexit and could even make changes to a deal.

Koen Lenaerts, president of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), said he was certain that the notoriously meddlesome body would become involved in the process.

Although the court cannot choose to step in, the Belgian believes there is a strong chance that one side of the negotiations - likely to be the EU - could lodge a legal challenge opposing a part of any Brexit deal that might be struck up.

The dispute would then be settled by the ECJ, much like Gina Miller's intervention which led to the triggering of Article 50 being dragged through the British court system, meaning technically it could be triggered by a third party.

The comments are likely to infuriate Theresa May who has pledged to leave the jurisdiction of the court as soon as possible.

In an apparent rebuke of the Prime Minister’s declaration, the Belgian judge suggested that the court could even intervene in any trade deals struck between the UK and the EU after Brexit.

Asked whether it was possible that the Luxembourg court could become involved in the departure, Mr Lenaerts said: ‘Yes, it is.’

He added: ‘It probably will, one day or another, end up on the docket of the Court – not because of the Court, but because of parties bringing the case.’

The role of the court is expected to be one of the most contentious issues when the UK takes to the negotiating table with the EU later this year.

In her landmark speech setting out the UK’s position on Brexit last month, Mrs May specifically pledged to ‘take back control of our laws’ from the ECJ.

She said: ‘Leaving the European Union will mean that our laws will be made in Westminster, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

‘And those laws will be interpreted by judges not in Luxembourg but in courts across this country.’

Alleged interference by ECJ judges in domestic legal disputes have long-angered Brexit supporters who believe the UK should regain sovereignty.

But while Downing Street is keen to leave the shackles of the court when an initial Brexit deal is done, EU leaders want the court to oversee any transition to a future trade deal.

This would mean that ECJ judges retain supremacy for a period of up to five years while the UK’s complete departure is ushered in.

Alleged interference by ECJ judges in domestic legal disputes have long-angered Brexit supporters. Pictured is the court in Luxembourg

Lenaerts, who has led the court since 2015, however insisted that ECJ judges would not become involved in political matters and simply apply the law.

Denying that the court had made decision to bolster power in Brussels, he said: ‘We are not pro-Union, we are not against Union.

‘We are pro law. The law is made by the political process.’

The judge, who has served in the ECJ for 28 years, added: ‘I have never ever, even in the most sensitive cases, felt any form of pressure, influence. Nothing. Not before, during or after.’