Former top judge warns justice system would be undermined by overturning Article 50 ruling

A former lord chief justice has said that the justice system would be undermined if the Supreme Court were to reverse a vote on the triggering of Article 50. The government was defeated on 3 November when three judges ruled that Article 50 could only be triggered if Parliament voted in favour of it.

Speaking to the BBC's Newsnight programme about reports that 100,000 people would march on Parliament in protest against the ruling, Lord Igor Judge, who was England and Wales' top judge between 2008 and 2013, said: "People can march as much as they like — I don't think it makes any difference to the judicial decision but it does make a difference to public order.

"Let's say for the sake of argument the Supreme Court decides the High Court was wrong, it will undoubtedly be conveyed as a victory for the demonstrators.

"It won't be, but that's what will be conveyed. And if that is conveyed, you've undermined the administration of justice."

Last week's ruling was met by public outcry in some sections of the media, as the Daily Mail ran a front page identifying the three judges as "enemies of the people". Gina Miller, the woman responsible for the legal challenge against the government, who had claimed they do not need Parliamentary consensus to trigger Article 50, faced a similarly hostile reaction on social media.

Lord Judge criticised the Government's response to the media reaction, and said they had been too slow to defend those responsible for the decision. Though the Government condemned the attacks on Miller, they also defended a free press.

Lord Judge, however, said that Liz Truss as the Lord Chancellor had a "statutory obligation" to defend the judiciary, which he said she had done "a little too late and not a lot".

"To say you believe in the independence of judges is fine but it doesn't actually address why this matters at a particular time," he said.

Lord Judge's comments came as hostilities between Leave and Remain groups grow. In response to the ruling, the Vote Leave campaign suggested on its website that the UK is "on a collision course to all-out conflict".