Sajid Javid says delay in triggering Article 50 would mean frustrating 'the will of the British people'

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has urged political leaders to expedite the process of Brexit as delaying it would amount to frustrating "the will of the British people". His comment comes after the latest High Court ruling, which said that Prime Minister Theresa May could not trigger Article 50 for the formal Brexit process without the parliament's approval.

The government has appealed against the 3 November three-judge ruling in the Supreme Court, which is expected to hear the government's case in December. Meanwhile, the prime minister is set to speak to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday, 4 November, to assure him that she intends to stick to the March 2017 deadline for triggering Article 50.

Amid speculation that some politicians might block the triggering of Article 50 during a parliament vote, Javid said that the June referendum had been "very, very clear" and that it should be implemented without delay.

"It was a clear result, clear instructions were issued... by the British people to their politicians saying: We need a decision. Now it's our job as politicians to get on with it," he reportedly said during BBC One's Question Time.

He also pointed out that in 2015, a majority of MPs backed the legislation to bring in a referendum on whether the UK should remain within the European Union or not. So, now it is a "moral issue" for all of them if the decision of the citizens is not carried out immediately, he said.

Meanwhile, Lisa Nandy of the Labour party said she is confident that Article 50 will be triggered and Britain will leave the bloc whether or not parliament votes on the issue. She told the BBC that "there are no more than a handful of parliamentarians who would seek to block that decision".

If the Supreme Court rules to sustain the High Court's decision, the government will have to introduce a new law for MPs and the House of Lords to vote on. This might lead to further delays in triggering Article 50.

However, investment fund manager and Remain voter Gina Miller – who is the lead claimant in the Article 50 case – played down criticism that the High Court ruling dealt a major blow to the Brexit process. She insisted that it was "not about politics, this was about process".

"One of the big arguments [in the referendum[ was parliamentary sovereignty... so you can't on the day you get back sovereignty decide you're going to sidestep or throw it away," the BBC quoted her as saying.

Reacting to the developments, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reportedly said: "This ruling underlines the need for the government to bring its negotiating terms to Parliament without delay. Labour respects the decision of the British people to leave the European Union. But there must be transparency and accountability to Parliament on the terms of Brexit."

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said that "democracy and sovereignty have been restored" through the High Court ruling. "What the government was seeking to do was to impose a deal that absolutely nobody voted for, that most people who voted to leave wouldn't be happy with and most people who voted to remain wouldn't be happy with, without any kind of Parliamentary scrutiny.

"So it's a terrible shame it had to go to the courts, but what has happened is that democracy and sovereignty have been restored," he noted.

However, UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said that the country appears to be heading for "a half-Brexit".

"I worry that a betrayal may be near at hand... I now fear that every attempt will be made to block or delay the triggering of Article 50," he reportedly said.