Davis said the government intended to keep to May's timetable to trigger article 50 by the end of March.

"The judgement does not alter the fact that we will leave the EU," said Davis.

He made a plea to politicians at Westminster not to use the process of the new bill to frustrate or thwart the will of the British people to leave the EU.

Sir Keith Starmer, Brexit spokesman for the main opposition Labour Party, described the events as a "good day for democracy."

He said it had been wrong of May to sideline parliament by her attempt to trigger article 50 without Westminster approval.

Describing the stakes as high, he called for a detailed government paper on the Brexit process, rather than a simply worded bill.

He insisted that Labour will not frustrate the triggering of article 50. Despite that assurance a number of Labour politicians have said they will oppose the triggering of the process if the result would be a hard Brexit.

Richard Tice, co-chair of Leave Means Leave, the campaign group campaigning for a hard Brexit, accused anti-democracy campaigners of delaying the Brexit process.

"A one line bill must be tabled this week in Parliament and a clear timetable set out to ensure that Article 50 will be triggered no later than the end of March as promised by the Prime Minister. Any attempt to delay the Brexit process after backing the previous vote would be an unforgivable betrayal of the British people."

He warned that any attempts in the House of Lords to delay or crush the bill would ensure the abolition of the unelected upper chamber.