An Abergavenny man has hailed the Supreme Court’s ruling that the UK government must consult parliament before triggering Article 50 to leave the European Union.

Chris Formaggia, a leading figure within the ‘People’s Challenge’ group, said he welcomed the decision, which was widely expected by Theresa May’s government.

"There is now a vital opportunity for MPs who supported Remain up to the referendum to consider the very good reasons why they did so and question whether the opinion poll does anything to change that reasoning,” he said.

The Supreme Court ruling means Article 50 — the legal trigger to begin the process of withdrawal — must be first subject to a parliamentary vote. A prior vote to give the government legal means of triggering Article 50 was a crushing win for the government with a 448-75 victory.

Grahame Pigney, one of the group’s founding members, said, “Thousands of UK citizens have fought this challenge through the UK courts to establish not only the Sovereignty of our UK Parliament but also the fact that the Government cannot strip away fundamental citizenship rights.

“The 1688 Bill of Rights has been defended against an autocratic and secretive Government, Parliament now has the opportunity to use the parliamentary processes to examine the Government’s plans and exercise Parliament’s rightful control over the direction that the UK takes.”

Theresa May’s government released a statement saying Article 50 would be triggered by the end of March, as planned.