The UK Parliament had passed the Brexit bill earlier this week and following the Queen’s rubber-stamping, the bill becomes an Act of Parliament. This move means that the Prime Minister can begin withdrawal talks and is free to decide when to invoke the two-year negotiation period for Britain to leave the EU – likely to be at the end of the month.

Scottish referendum calls

Simultaneously, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that she intended to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence between autumn 2018 and spring 2019. That Brexit process is set to take two years from when Mrs May invokes Article 50, which formally gives the EU notice of the UK's intention to leave. However, commentators believe it is unlikely the Prime Minister would allow any Scottish referendum to happen at least until Brexit negotiations have been concluded.