May 'set to trigger Brexit without Commons vote'

BRITAIN'S Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing to invoke Article 50 - starting the formal process of the country's exit from the European Union - without giving MPs the chance to vote on the matter, according to reports.

Government lawyers have told Mrs May that she has the executive authority to set the two-year clock running on Brexit without the need for Commons approval, The Telegraph reports.

They are confident that judges hearing a legal challenge to the process of Britain's EU exit in October will rule in the government's favour.

Opponents of Brexit have argued that the referendum on June 23, when 52% voted for Britain to leave the EU, was advisory and must be supported in Parliament before Article 50 can be triggered.

With the majority of MPs and Lords in favour of Remain, obtaining Parliamentary approval would be likely to take years. But Mrs May - who has repeatedly said 'Brexit means Brexit' since the vote - could sidestep the issue if the High Court rules that the 1972 European Communities Act does not have to be repealed before Brexit can be triggered.

Mrs May would then be ready to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty in 2017, paving the way for the UK's exit from the EU in 2019.

She is set to challenge ministers to 'make Brexit work' at a cabinet meeting this week.