A Hampshire MP has said the government was right to appeal a High Court ruling on Brexit after the Government lost its Supreme Court appeal.

Suella Fernandes, MP for Fareham, defended the decision due to the “important constitutional issues at stake”.

The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, rejected an appeal by ministers against a High Court judgment blocking their decision to begin Britain's exit from the European Union without Parliament having a say.

Supreme Court justices ruled, by a majority of eight to three, that Prime Minister Theresa May cannot lawfully bypass MPs and peers by using the royal prerogative to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and start the two-year process of negotiating the UK's divorce from its EU partners.

Ms Fernandes said: “The Government was absolutely right to appeal the High Court judgment of November 3 as important constitutional issues are at stake.”

“Ministers should now table the Bill – for exiting the EU – in Parliament immediately. It must be short and the long title of the Bill tightly worded.”

She added: “The House of Commons has already voted on Brexit, agreeing to the Government’s timetable on triggering Article 50 by the end of March. MPs backed this by 461 votes to 89 - a significant margin of 372.

“So during the Bill’s passage through Parliament, the Lords must not frustrate the democratic will of the British people by delaying it or holding the Commons hostage.”