Government loses Supreme Court Article 50 case
The Supreme Court has dismissed the government's appeal in its long-awaited judgment in the Article 50 case later this morning.
The court voted by a majority of eight to three to dismiss the case, meaning MPs must be given a vote before the Brexit process can begin.
However, it also said it had unanimously decided devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales do not need to be consulted before Article 50 is triggered.
The case, which was heard by all 11 of the Supreme Court justices in December, was an appeal by the government from an earlier High Court decision, in which a trio of judges ruled parliament must give the thumbs up before Article 50 can be triggered.
Although the initial case, which was heard in the High Court last October, was brought by a number of parties, businesswoman Gina Miller was picked as lead claimant.
Read more: Business secretary backs City as a "huge national asset"
However, the arguments presented to the Supreme Court were more complicated, as Miller's case was combined with an appeal from the High Court in Northern Ireland, which decided that neither the region's laws nor its parliament could be used to veto Brexit.
A number of intervening parties also joined the Supreme Court case, including the Scottish and Welsh governments, which are looking for legal clarity on how involved the devolved administrations should expect to be in the start of the Article 50 process.
Read more: Boring Dublin and provincial Frankfurt won’t steal London’s finance crown
Since the case was heard, a number of Brexit developments have occurred outside the courtroom.
Perhaps most notably, the Prime Minister delivered her landmark Brexit speech last week. Although Theresa May did not go as far as offering MPs a say on beginning the Brexit process, she did extend a vote on the final deal itself.