A historic legal challenge over whether UK Prime Minister Theresa May has the power to start the country's withdrawal from the European Union (EU) appears to have succeeded, with a government lawyer saying that it is now "very likely" that the procedure will be subject to a parliamentary vote.

Speaking in London's High Court yesterday, James Eadie QC, one of the government's lead advocates in civil litigation, suggested that politicians would now be able to vote on the Brexit process. "The view within government is that it is very likely that this treaty will be subject to ratification process in the usual way," he said.