Attorney General prepares for Supreme Court Brexit battle

The Attorney General has said the judges who ruled against the Government on Brexit should not "relegate, almost to a footnote, the outcome of the referendum".

Jeremy Wright, the Government's top legal officer, is heading to the Supreme Court next week in the latest round of the Brexit battle.

The hearing will decide whether Prime Minister Theresa May is entitled to trigger formal divorce proceedings between the UK and European Union under Article 50.

In a rare court appearance, Mr Wright will be arguing that the referendum vote on 23 June - when 17.4 million people backed Brexit - gave the Government the largest mandate in British electoral history.

He will also say that, when the High Court ruled last month that withdrawal from the EU can only be launched by Parliament, the court had appeared to have been "divorced from the reality" of how modern states operate.

In a statement of the Government's appeal against that High Court decision, Mr Wright said that judges were "wrong to relegate, almost to a footnote, the outcome of the referendum".

In setting out the case, Mr Wright said it "cannot be resolved in a vacuum, without regard to the outcome of the referendum".

He warns that, if the High Court decision was upheld, it could threaten the Government's ability to sign treaties, a power that is "vital" to a modern state.

Gina Miller, who brought the Article 50 case to court, said: "It's scandalous that the article, taken from the Government's skeleton legal argument, shows the Government's disgraceful attitude in choosing to politicise crucial constitution issues; rather than address matters of law."

Eleven Supreme Court judges will hear the appeal over four days but no judgement is expected until the New Year.

:: Sky News will be LIVE from the Supreme Court from 10am on Monday