Senior ministers have reportedly conceded that the UK Government is likely to fail in its bid to trigger Article 50 without the ratification of Parliament. According to reports in The Guardian, members of cabinet are predicting that seven of the 11 justices presiding of the Government’s appeal are likely to uphold an earlier ruling in the High Court that Prime Minister Theresa May could not use royal prerogative power to trigger Article 50 and the UK’s subsequent withdrawal from the European Union, but would instead need to seek the approval of Parliament. The Supreme Court has reportedly denied the Government’s request that it be given ‘early sight’ of the judgement so that it can begin contingency planning, with a spokesperson for the court saying that the decision is ‘too sensitive’. With defeat now likely, the Government must scramble to prepare several bills through which MPs can grant Prime Minister May the power to trigger Article 50 so that one of them might meet the court’s requirements and be tabled in Parliament before the Government’s March deadline.

Sources: The Guardian; American Lawyer