The crushing legal defeat over Brexit was a shock to Theresa May, but not necessarily a surprise

Theresa May was having breakfast in Downing Street with Philip Hammond when news came through that the government had suffered a crushing defeat over Brexit in the High Court.

The prime minister and chancellor listened while a civil servant explained that three senior judges — all with close links to the European Union — had ruled that the government could not trigger article 50 and kickstart the withdrawal process without parliament’s permission.

May had grounds for fury. Her flagship announcement at the Conservative Party conference, that she would begin Brexit by the end of March, had been shot down by a combination of establishment judges and a ragtag collection of pro-EU campaigners fronted by Gina Miller, a City investment manager, Deir Dos Santos, a London-based