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The Brexit Bill passed into law today amid warnings from bank chiefs that thousands of jobs could move to Europe once Article 50 is triggered later this month.

The Act of Parliament giving Theresa May the power to start the Brexit process received Royal Assent from the Queen , with the PM preparing to trigger Article 50 before the end of this month.

Tory MPs cheered as Commons Speaker John Bercow announced the Bill was now the law of the land.

“The Queen has today given Royal Assent to the Article 50 Bill, giving the Government the formal power to trigger Article 50 and deliver on the will of the British people,” said delighted Brexit Secretary David Davis .

(Image: PA)

“By the end of the month we will invoke Article 50, allowing us to start our negotiations to build a positive new partnership with our friends and neighbours in the European Union , as well as taking a step out into the world as a truly Global Britain.”

But it came as the boss of global bank UBS announced he would make a final decision on moving up to 1,500 jobs from London onto the continent once Article 50 has been triggered.

Downing Street insisted that by striking a good deal with the EU during the two-year Brexit negotiations, most firms will be convinced not to move jobs abroad.

(Image: Getty)

But UBS chairman Axel Weber said: “We cannot postpone decisions on how we run our European operations.

“As soon as we know definitely that Brexit will happen, you will see decision-making processes kick off in all financial institutions.

“Institutions like ours are faced with very important decisions about how to reshape our operations, given that London will no longer be part of the EU.”