• Supreme Court rejected Scottish government's argument that it must have a say on Article 50 bill
• SNP have pledged to table FIFTY amendments in bid to derail May's Brexit timetable
Getty / Jeff J Mitchell
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that parliament at Westminster must vote before Theresa May can trigger the legal mechanism, which will kickstart the two-year Brexit process, in March.
However, judges rejected the Scottish government's argument that Holyrood should have a say on the triggering of Article 50.
James Wolffe QC, Scotland's chief law officer, cited an obscure piece of devolution legislation called the Sewell Convention which states that "it is recognised that the parliament of the
In the wake of Tuesday's announcement, the Scottish National Party, which has 52 from 650 seats in Westminster, said that it would use its clout to try and frustrate Theresa May's intended Article 50 timetable.
The party's international affairs spokesman Alex Salmond said in a statement that it would table fifty amendments to any Article 50 legislation, including one which would make the UK government seek unanimous approval on the triggering of Article 50 from the Joint Ministerial Committee, which comprises the leaders of devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Speaking from Brussels, Salmond said: "The Prime Minister and her hard Brexit brigade must treat devolved administrations as equal partners - as indeed she promised to do.
"For over six months the concerns surrounding a hard Tory Brexit have been echoing throughout the land and yet the Prime Minister has not listened.
"If Theresa May is intent on being true to her word that Scotland and the other devolved administrations are equal partners in this process, then now is the time to show it.
"Now is the time to sit with the Joint Ministerial Committee and not just casually acknowledge, but constructively engage. Consultation must mean consultation," he said.