Michael Zander QC predicts the government is likely to lose the appeal to the Supreme Court
Asked by NLJ for an immediate assessment of last week’s Brexit decision I wrote: “The Divisional Court’s unanimous decision is very clear and very strong. It completely rejects the arguments advanced by the Attorney General for the government. Triggering Art 50 to start withdrawal from the EU requires parliamentary approval not in the form of a vote but in the form of a statute. It would be extremely surprising if the Supreme Court reversed the decision. The government’s Brexit plans have suffered a major reverse.”
The decision provoked disturbingly offensive front-page newspaper headlines of a kind rarely seen in this country, adorned by large accusing pictures of the three judges: “The judges versus the people” (The Telegraph), “Enemies of the people” (The Daily Mail), “Three judges yesterday blocked Brexit. Now your country really does need you” (Daily Express) and the like. The Lord Chancellor, Liz Truss, with statutory responsibility to uphold the rule of law, has rightly been