Brexit timetable ‘unchanged’ despite shocking ruling: May

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday told European leaders that her March deadline for triggering Brexit negotiations “remains unchanged”, despite a court ruling that she first needs parliament’s approval.

May told European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the “government’s planned timetable for notification of Article 50 remains unchanged”, during separate phone calls, according to a statement released by Downing Street.

She added that the government was confident of winning next month’s Supreme Court appeal against Thursday’s High Court ruling that her government does not have the power on its own to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would formally start the process. “The PM explained to both Chancellor Merkel and President Juncker that while the government was disappointed with the judgement, it had strong legal arguments ahead of the case moving to the Supreme Court,” the statement said.