Author Thomas Harding is in the process of doing what the descendants of many Holocaust victims would find unimaginable: applying for a German passport.

When Britain voted to leave the European Union in June, the 48-year-old had to make a decision that was never necessary before the referendum - should he request the restoration of German citizenship stripped from his family by the Third Reich? He needed only a few hours to make up his mind.

“This is more than the practical, this is also about something for us, or for me, it's about something spiritual, it's about reconciliation,’’ he said. “It's about acknowledging the truth of the horrors of the past but also about trying to build a better future together, and as a European, that's what I hope to do."

It is one of the complicated realities of the UK’s pending divorce from the EU that many Britons whose ancestors came from other parts of Europe are claiming citizenship in other member states so they can retain ties to the Continent. Inquiries about passports are up at the German, Austrian, French and Polish embassies.

Some want to retain the ability to travel easily from country to country or maintain business ties. Others just want to be part of the European Union.

But for Jews whose families fled Germany to escape Adolf Hitler, the decision means re-examining long-held beliefs about history and the country that once persecuted them.

The children and grandchildren of Jewish refugees are taking advantage of a law that allows the descendants of people persecuted by the Nazis to regain the citizenship that was stripped from them in the 1930s and 1940s. More than 400 Britons have sought information about the law since the June 23 referendum, and German authorities have received at least 100 formal applications, compared with about 20 annually in recent years.

Michael Newman, chief executive of the Association of Jewish Refugees, said Brexit has fuelled interest in German citizenship, but it’s hard to know how many people will actually apply. Jews are now able to consider such a step because Germany has made huge strides in addressing the past, creating a culture of remembrance, he said.

“No amount of blood money or memorials will satisfy or suffice for some people but in terms of addressing its past and owning up to it and looking into things, it's done much that many other countries haven't,’’ said Newman.

Many of those seeking restoration of their citizenship don’t intend to live in Germany, but want the freedom to travel and work in EU nations.

Ben Lewis, a 49-year-old documentary filmmaker, is among those who would like to regain German citizenship.

Lewis, whose film and production company has worked for years on the continent, sees the potential of Brexit as an abomination, particularly the anti-immigrant sentiment that influenced many people to vote to leave.

“I just want to take a firm stance, a documented stance etched in acid on stone, that I object to Brexit," he said.

The decision for many might have been prompted by Brexit, but had been years in the making for some. Harding, for one, has long been coming to terms with his German past, a journey documented in part in his book, “The House by the Lake.’’

The way Harding sees it, Germany is now showing leadership by taking in over a million refugees.

As the result of the EU referendum became clear on the morning of June 24, Harding was on the phone to the German embassy to inquire about citizenship.

It’s logical, he says, for Jews to cling to the EU, which was created to build international links that would make another European war impossible.

“It was much less about saying goodbye to Britain than saying hello to Europe," he said.

London - 5 October 2016

1. Pan down from German and European Union flags to entrance of German Embassy in London

2. Various of flags

3. Mid of author Thomas Harding sitting on grass looking at passport that belonged to his German Jewish grandfather

4. Close of Harding's face

5. Various of passport

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Harding, author, in the process of applying for restoration of German passport following Brexit vote:

"This is more than the practical, this is also about something for us, or for me, it's about something spiritual, it's about reconciliation. It's about acknowledging the truth of the horrors of the past but also about trying to build a better future together, and as a European, that's what I hope to do."

7. Cutaway passport and photo of Harding's grandparents

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Harding, author, in the process of applying for restoration of German passport following Brexit vote:

"I think what has happened to me is I have become much more open towards Germany and at the same time following Brexit, I realised that there was going to be a very real loss. It was likely that me and my family would be unable to live and work in 27 countries in Europe and given the fact that I didn't have to give up my British passport, I didn't have to live in Germany by necessity or learn German, show I could speak German, it didn't seem like there was anything to lose and so for me, it was much less about saying goodbye to Britain than saying hello to Europe."

9. Harding flicking through passport

10. Mid of exhibit of Jewish Museum in London

11. Soft focus, yellow star that Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany

12. Set up of documentary maker Ben Lewis

13. Close of Lewis looking at museum exhibit

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Lewis, documentary maker, in the process of applying for restoration of German passport following Brexit vote:

"Well, it was immediately after Brexit I thought the restoration of German citizenship was something that I wanted, because before Brexit I was part of the EU anyway. I was a European, I was deeply engaged in German culture from the age of 14 when I first started learning German, and in a way my whole life was orientated around creating links around rebuilding, if you like, as a Jew, links between myself, in Britain and German culture."

15. Cutaway hands

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Lewis, documentary maker, in the process of applying for restoration of German passport following Brexit vote:

"I have many motivations for wanting to get German citizenship. I am thinking a lot about my child, I want him to have the same advantages in life that I had, you know, to be able to play on a European field. I've worked all over Europe in my life. I love Berlin - I could imagine living there. Perhaps that would happen in the future. And I just want to take a firm stance, a documented stance, something etched in acid on stone, that I object to Brexit."

17. Set up shot of Michael Newman, chief executive of the Association of Jewish Refugees

18. Newman typing

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Newman, chief executive of the Association of Jewish Refugees:

"Well I think this is uppermost in the minds of the government that they are not going to walk away from any post Holocaust responsibilities and I think most people would look at what Germany has done since the Second World War in terms of addressing its past, the culture of remembrance, the educational resources, it's committed to teaching about the holocaust and see that what it has done has been leading the way and if you look at issues like restitution, archive, opening archives, documentation centres, even opening and creating museums, they are, they're leading the way in many respects in dealing with their history. It remains of course very subjective because no amount of blood, money or memorials will satisfy or suffice for some people but in terms of addressing its past and owning up to it and looking into things, it's done much that many other countries haven't."

20. Wide of German Embassy entrance for public

21. Close of entrance

22. Sign reading 'Welcome' in German and English

UK Foreign Secretary and Conservative leadership contender Jeremy Hunt said Monday that he would decide whether a Brexit deal can get through the House of Commons by September 30th if he became prime minister.

At a speech in London outlining his 10 point plan for Brexit, Hunt said that he would ramp up no-deal preparations "on day one" if he was elected, pledging a 6 billion pound (7.6 billion US dollar) fund to support the fishing and farming sectors who export to Europe.

Hunt added that if he assessed there was no deal to be done he would "immediately cease all discussions with the European Union and focus the whole country's mission on no deal preparations."

He assured EU citizens that their rights would be protected whatever the outcome.

Hunt clarified that no deal was "not my preferred destination, but if a withdrawal deal is simply not on the cards, then the only way to fulfill the democratic mandate of the referendum is to leave without a deal, which is what we will do."

The discussion over a no-deal Brexit is at the forefront of the battle for the leadership of the Conservative Party between Hunt and Boris Johnson.

The winner will become prime minister next month.

Johnson, a former mayor of London, has said Britain will leave on October 31 "do or die" while Hunt says it's an artificial deadline that could be extended again.

Brexit has already been delayed from its original date of March 29 after Parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal three times.

Both leadership candidates have said they will look to negotiate changes to the withdrawal agreement that deals with citizens' rights post-Brexit, Britain's financial obligations to the EU and making sure no hard border returns between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

UK POOL

London - 1 July 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"Throughout the campaign I've made it clear that my preference is for us to leave with a better deal, one that addresses the problems with the existing deal and specifically the backstop, ensures we have a fully independent trade policy and allows us to design our own immigration system. I know that with my experience of business and government I'm the best placed candidate to get that better deal. But I also know that renegotiation will not be easy. But it won't be impossible either. And with the parliamentary arithmetic that we face, securing a deal that can pass through Parliament remains the quickest and safest way to deliver Brexit."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"But what if the European Union refuses to budge? We need a comprehensive no deal plan, because Brexit is about more than slogans more than belief more than positive thinking. You can't leave the European Union on a wing and a prayer. You need a plan. Today I'm setting up my ten point plan. Firstly on day one of my premiership I will order an immediate ramping up of no deal preparations."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"In order to avoid a 'take it or leave it approach' which would be fatal to negotiations, I and the Brexit secretary will engage with European leaders and the European Commission during July and August to do our very best to come to an agreed way forward. I'll also establish fifthly a National Logistics Committee led by the Department of Transport to produce a plan to keep goods flowing in and out of the UK in the event of no deal. This will include an assessment of any emergency powers required to ensure ports and airports will work in a coordinated way nationally."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"The Treasury will start preparations on a no deal Brexit budget to be delivered the first week Parliament is back in September. This will include my existing policies of cutting corporation tax to 12 and a half percent, increasing the Annual Investment Allowance to five million pounds and taking 90 percent of high street businesses out of rates which I will introduce in any circumstance. Number seven, HMT will also produce a no deal relief programme. This will include a six billion pound fund for the fishing and farming sectors who export to Europe to ease transition out of the European Union whilst honouring our international obligations. It will also consider what relief other industries will require."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"I'll make a judgment on the 30th of September as to whether there is a realistic chance of a new deal being agreed that can pass through the House of Commons. If my judgment and the judgment of my cabinet is that there is a deal to be done, I will seek to conclude the negotiations and pass a new meaningful vote and any necessary legislation in the House of Commons before the end of October. If my judgment is that there is no deal to be done I will immediately cease all discussions with the European Union and focus the whole country's mission on no deal preparations. One thing I will not negotiate on is citizens rights. So to put the millions of EU citizens who have made the UK their home, to put them all at ease I can reconfirm to them that their rights in the UK will be protected whatever the outcome."

++BLACK FRAMES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary and Conservative candidate for Prime Minister:

"If the (European) Commission engages in good faith and negotiations are going well, then I don't believe we should ignore progress made and throw away that deal for the sake of an arbitrary deadline. With a deal done, billions more will be available to invest in the economic and social missions that I've set out and we should welcome that. But I want to be crystal clear with members of the Conservative party, with my parliamentary colleagues and with the European Union: if there is no engagement on this deal, if it's apparent that the Commission is simply not interested in negotiating, if there's no willingness to tackle the shortcomings of the backstop and if there is no immediate prospect of a deal that can get through Parliament, then there will be no kicking the can down the road and we will intensify and finalise our preparations to leave without a deal. So from the start of my premiership I will work on the basis that we are leaving on the 31st of October with or without a deal unless the Commission changes its position. No deal is not my preferred destination, but if a withdrawal deal is simply not on the cards, then the only way to fulfill the democratic mandate of the referendum is to leave without a deal, which is what we will do."

++BLACK FRAMES++

The Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament said on Thursday that the UK deciding to leave the European Union had caused a renewal of interest in the European project.

Speaking at an event at the London School of Economics, Guy Verhofstadt said that the EU had gained popularity since the UK's referendum last year.

In a wide ranging speech on Brexit, Verhofstadt also put forward a vision of an ever closer union of remaining European Union states including the chance to elect politicians at a European level, as opposed to just nationally.

++NO CUTAWAYS AVAILABLE - SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

AGENCY POOL

London - 28 August 2017

1. Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, walking to lectern

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"I have to tell you that I also know why Theresa May gave her speech in Florence. I presume that I know it. I think she chose Florence because Florentine politics in the 15th Century made her feel at home I think. You know, backstabbing, betrayal, noble families fighting for power and so, and so on, so I think that this is an environment that she recognised very well."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"At the very beginning she referred to the renaissance as a period of history that defined what it meant to be European. Well that's exactly what the European Union is all about. The European Union, ladies and gentlemen is far more than a peace process after the Second World War, far more than the Franco-German reconciliation alone. The European Union is all about civilisation. It's in fact the political translation of that civilisation, of that European common culture and values. That is what this European Union is about."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"So criticising people for wanting to keep their European identity, accusing them of split allegiance is binary, is old fashioned. I think it's reductionist view on identity. I think it's perfectly possible but I look to the Mayor (of London, Sadiq Khan, in the audience), who has more experience, to be a Londoner, English, British, and European at the same time and there is no contradiction and that has nothing to do with split allegiance. So my message at the beginning of my intervention - watch out, beware of politicians who want to define your identity. The only reason they do so is to categorise people. To reduce you to your nationality, your ethnicity your religion and, split allegiance are two words that belong to the langauge of states that are in my opinion totalitarian, and not of democracies, not of democracies like Britain. In all democracies, people they find their own allegiance, define themselves how British, how European they feel and not the minister of foreign affairs, if I may say so (in reference to UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson)."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"I have to tell you very honestly, and I've said this already a few times but i want to repeat it here in London, but I continue to believe that Brexit is a very negative project, that it is in fact a waste of time and energy. The destruction of a strong political bond that made people on both sides of the channel richer freer than ever before. But we are democrats. We have to respect the outcome of the referendum. And more over we have to implement it and that is exactly what Europe will do and also will establish a new relationship, a new relationship between the European Union and the UK that hopefully will be beneficial for everybody, for both. And if you ask me the question, is there really, really, really, nothing positive you can say about Brexit, well I can say yes, there is something positive. It has opened people's eyes on the continent."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit negotiatior for the European Parliament

"There has been a fundamental shift in the thinking about Europe, in the heads of a number of people and leaders in Europe. And that is not to look anymore to Europe and the European Union as a bunch of nation-states, but as a genuine political community, as a democracy on a continental scale, and two proposals that I already defended a number of years ago but nobody believed to be realistic - they were dreams that would never realise themselves - are proof of that. The first proposal is the call, we have seen that I hope, for transnational list, the idea to turn the European Union into one big constituency and to give to all citizens in Europe two ballots - one to choose their own representative of their country in the parliament and the second one to elect a number of politicians on the European level, what in my opinion would make European politics more democratic and what will lift in fact this European democracy on a continental scale, what we absolutely need."

7. Verhofstadt being seated

Nominations close on Monday in the Brexit-dominated race to become Britain's next prime minister, a contest that will be decided by lawmakers and members of the governing Conservative Party.

With a 1600 GMT deadline to submit nomination papers, almost a dozen contenders were already battling it out over tax policy, past drug use - and, of course, Britain's stalled departure from the European Union.

The winner will face the challenge of breaking Britain's impasse over Brexit, an issue that has bedevilled politicians for three years and ultimately defeated outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May.

The favourite on betting markets is Boris Johnson, a former foreign secretary with an instantly recognizable mop of blond hair and a knack for entertaining the public.

He says he will take Britain out of the bloc without a deal if necessary, and on Monday promised a tax cut for millions of middle- and high-income Britons.

Unlike the other candidates, Johnson hasn't given television interviews or held any public events, as his campaign team tries to avoid gaffes that could spoil his front-runner status.

For all candidates, the key issue is Brexit.

The Conservatives have been hammered in recent European and local elections as voters punish the party for failing to leave the 28-nation EU.

"The leadership I offer is based on one simple truth; without Brexit there will be no Conservative government and maybe no Conservative Party," Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said as he officially launched his campaign on Monday.

Hunt backed the losing "remain" side during the 2016 EU membership referendum, but now says he will negotiate a better Brexit deal with the EU and lead the UK out of the bloc.

Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab is competing with Johnson for the support of hardcore Brexiteers.

He said on Monday that Britain had "suffered a loss of nerve" and must not delay its departure from the EU  beyond October 31.

He has even suggested he could suspend Parliament if it tried to delay or impede Brexit.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock pitches himself as the face of a younger, modernising generation in the Conservative Party.

Promising to deliver an energising blend of social liberalism and economic dynamism, he said on Monday that the Conservatives had to look beyond Brexit - a message that may be coming too soon for many in the party.

UK POOL

London, 10 June 2019

1. Various of Conservative leadership contender and former foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, leaving his home, getting into car and being driven away ++PLEASE NOTE: DIGITAL BREAK UP DUE TO STILLS CAMERA FLASHES++

2. Wide of Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt during the official launch of his campaign

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary and Conservative leadership contender:  

"The leadership I offer is based on one simple truth; without Brexit there will be no Conservative government and maybe no Conservative Party. Whoever delivers Brexit will win the next election for the Conservative Party, but without Brexit, no Conservative Prime Minister can win."

4. Hunt walking from podium to applause

5. Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab arriving at official launch of his leadership campaign

6. Cutaway journalist

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominic Raab, Former Brexit Secretary and Conservative leadership contender:

"We've suffered a loss of nerve. We need new leadership and that leadership needs to be bold, infused with some of that stubborn optimism. This is a crossroads in our history, we're on the cusp of momentous change. One thing I know, we can't just keep limping on like this without a clear sense of direction, without a clear sense of purpose. The tired approach that got us into this mess is not going to get us out of it."

8. Wide of Raab at podium

9. Matt Hancock, UK Health Secretary and Conservative leadership contender, arriving at official launch of his campaign

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Hancock, UK Health Secretary and Conservative leadership contender:

"Some people say that we need a Brexiteer, that with the need to deliver Brexit, we've got to have a Brexiteer. I think that's getting it completely the wrong way round. We need to deliver Brexit and as a party, we need to win back the voters who voted for the Brexit Party because we haven't delivered it yet."

11. Hancock leaving after speech

British Prime Minister Theresa May was battling Monday to stave off a new defeat for her European Union divorce deal, with talks deadlocked a day before Parliament is scheduled to vote on the plan.

The House of Commons is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to approve a deal it resoundingly rejected in January, and there are few signs of a big shift in opinion.

Londoners on both sides of the camp said Monday they just wanted a resolution of a situation that had been dragging on for far too long.

Lawmakers' opposition to the deal centers on concerns over arrangements for the Irish border.

May's government has been seeking changes, but the EU refuses to reopen the 585-page agreement that it spent a year and a half negotiating.

The bloc is frustrated at what it sees as the inability of Britain's divided government to lay out a clear vision for Brexit, and for seeking changes to an agreement that May herself helped negotiate.

"Technical" talks aimed at securing concessions from the EU failed to secure a breakthrough over the weekend, and a rumored trip by May to meet EU leaders in Brussels on Monday looked to have been shelved.

If Parliament throws out the deal again, lawmakers will vote on whether to leave the EU without an agreement, an idea likely to be rejected, or to ask the EU to delay Brexit beyond the scheduled March 29 departure date.

May warned last week that any delay could mean "we may never leave the EU at all."

Hard-line Brexit supporters in May's Conservative Party said she should postpone Tuesday's vote rather than risk another crushing defeat.

May has staked her political reputation on securing an exit deal with the EU, and is under mounting pressure to quit if it is defeated again.

She survived a bid to oust her through a no-confidence vote in December, so can't be forced from office for a year.

London - 11 March, 2019

1. Various of Parliament and Commonwealth flags

2. Set up of analyst

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Alan Wager, analyst from UK in a Changing Europe, Kings College London:

"Tomorrow there will be a vote in parliament, MPs can put their alternative ideas, their alternative arrangements in place. They can put concessions and additions to the deal but ultimately Theresa May's deal will be voted on tomorrow evening and the debate is by how much it will lose and that will determine whether or not Theresa May's deal can survive or whether or not she can attempt one more time to put the deal back into the House of Commons, so if it's defeated by a mixture of hard right people, Euro sceptic people and on the left wing, so the Labour Party, then it's going to be the end of her deal probably and that will mean that a new arrangement is going to have to be negotiated with the European Union."

4. Cutaway of eyes

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Alan Wager, analyst from UK in a Changing Europe, Kings College London:

"So Theresa May's deal is defeated and then following that we end up with no deal being defeated as well, then we've got very few options left other than a softer Norway type of Brexit or potentially another referendum becoming a lot more likely as a result of the rejection of Theresa May's deal and no-deal. Today's a really important week because it will start ruling out options that currently exist for MPs and for the UK, things like no-deal, things like Theresa May's deal currently exist as options and when you get rid of those options and then that makes other things like a referendum or a softer Brexit a lot more likely."

6. Various of newspaper stand showing Brexit headlines

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Kirsten Murrell, newspaper seller:

"I hope that we'll get out as quickly as possible with little delay.  It's been going on for far too long and I think one's getting really really fed up."

8 . Various of commuters walking out of the metro station

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Patrick Whittome, civil servant:

"Well I want to have a resolution frankly because probably like the rest of the country I'm bored of it. I would like a deal or a no-deal but I would just like it to come to an end.  I think that there's a risk that if we don't get a deal or we don't move towards a no deal then it will just drag on forever and I think the really damaging thing for the country is the uncertainty."

10. Commuters

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Rupert Fast, civil servant:

"I know that we're not going to get the Brexit that we really voted for so it would be nice if we could just draw a line under it one way or the other and not have it carrying on. Even that's just probably a forlorn hope."

12. EU flag with Parliament tower in background

13. Churchill statue and Parliament

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Alan Wager, analyst from UK in a Changing Europe, Kings College London:

"I think it's crunch week for the House of Commons because MPs will have the option of getting rid of some concrete options in terms of Brexit and after this week the House of Commons is going to have fewer options and fewer choices because we are going to have to start making choices, because we only have 2 weeks to go until Britain leaves the European Union so they've been forced into this position but finally now the House of Commons is going to have to make a final judgement on what it wants in terms of Brexit."

15. Various of Parliament

Opposing groups of campaigners gathered outside the UK Supreme Court in London on Monday as judges started hearing the government's appeal against a ruling that Parliament must hold a vote before Britain's European Union exit negotiations can begin.

Prime Minister Theresa May plans to trigger two years of divorce talks before the end of March by invoking Article 50 of the EU's key treaty, using centuries-old government powers known as royal prerogative.

Those powers - traditionally held by the monarch but now used by politicians - allow the government to join or leave international treaties without consulting lawmakers.

Financial entrepreneur Gina Miller and hairdresser Deir Dos Santos went to court to argue that leaving the EU will remove some of their rights, including free movement within the 28-nation bloc, and that shouldn't be done without Parliament's approval.

Last month, three High Court judges agreed - but the government says they have misinterpreted the law.

The case has raised a constitutional quandary and inflamed the country's heated debate about Brexit.

November's ruling infuriated pro-Brexit campaigners, who saw the lawsuit as an attempt to block or delay Britain's EU exit.

Miller says she has received abuse and death threats.

She arrived at court Monday with her lawyers, greeted by cheers from pro-EU campaigners dressed as judges atop an open-topped double-decker bus.

A banner on the side read "In democracy, Leave hypocrisy."

"Nigel, where are you?" they sang mockingly, in reference to former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, a prominent voice in the leave campaign.

He had promised to lead a march on the Supreme Court to demand judges respect the will of the majority.

It was cancelled last week after organisers said there was a risk it could be hijacked by far-right extremists.

Two anti-EU protesters held placards, one calling the case an "establishment stitch-up."

Many legal experts say the government will likely lose its appeal and be forced to give Parliament a vote.

London - 5 December 2016

1. Exterior of UK Supreme Court

2. Close up of European Union flag

3. Police entering Supreme Court

4. Wide of pro-Remain protesters from Britain for Europe singing as they arrive in open-topped London bus UPSOUND (English) "Nigel, where are you?"

5. Various of protesters outside court building, holding EU and UK flags

6. SOUNDBITE (English) David Gullant, Protester from Surrey branch of Britain for Europe:

"I am a British citizen, but I want to make sure that the UK due process is followed. So this is not about Brexit pros and cons, it's about making sure that if you have an Act of Parliament, only Parliament can change that Act of Parliament. It is not up to the prime minister to overturn it, it has got to go through due process."

7. Pro-Brexit protester Julia Waller

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Julia Waller, pro Brexit protester

"Well, I hope that the government, I hope Theresa May's hand, is strengthened. We've got to give her some credit - she can't expose her hand to Europe. Europe doesn't have our best interests at heart anyway, and I think we want to be free, and when people voted they didn't just vote for a soft Brexit or a grey Brexit, those words didn't exist then. We just voted for Brexit. We want to get out - end of (discussion)."

9. Pan from pro-Europe protesters to Supreme Court

Just days away from a potentially calamitous no-deal Brexit, European Union leaders meet Wednesday to discuss granting the United Kingdom a new delay - possibly of up to a year - to its departure from the bloc.

It's likely to be a rough day for British Prime Minister Theresa May as she pleads for a second extension until June 30, to prevent Britain's scheduled departure from the EU this Friday.

Brexit analyst Anand Menon, the director of UK in a Changing Europe initiative, said the Prime Minister is in "really invidious situation", where she is trying to avoid a long delay but cannot deliver Brexit due to some of her own party members "playing games behind her".

He added May was heading to Brussels in a weak position, "asking for a favour from her European colleagues".

European Council President Donald Tusk has suggested an even longer delay of up to a year with conditions attached to ensure Britain does not stymie EU decision-making if it remains a member.

May will head to Brussels for a pre-summit meeting with Tusk before explaining her delay request to the leaders who will then discuss their next move.

If they don't grant an extension, Britain leaves the bloc on Friday with no deal regulating the departure.

A drastic cliff-edge exit would have huge costs to businesses and trade across the English Channel and be very cumbersome to travellers as it would likely hit airports, ports, tariff rules and standard regulations overnight.

London – 10 April 2019

1. London bus passing EU flags and sign reading (English) "Stop the Brexit mess" outside House of Parliament

2. Flags and people outside parliament

3. Row of anti-Brexit signs outside parliament

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Anand Menon, analyst and Director of UK in a Changing Europe:

"I think it's absolutely crucial to get this extension because no one wants Britain to fall out with 'no deal' on Friday. It would obviously hurt Britain very badly, but it will hurt a lot of other member states who trade closely with us as well. So I think there is a pressure on all sides, particularly on the British government. It is absolutely true, Mrs (Theresa) May has gone there (Brussels) as a demander asking for a favour from her European colleagues. I suspect they'll give her it, but then that leaves the problem still unresolved: what is Britain going to decide to do."

5. EU flags and sign reading (English) "Stop the Brexit mess"

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Anand Menon, analyst and Director of UK in a Changing Europe:

"Mrs May is in a really invidious situation. She doesn't want a long delay, she still wants the withdrawal agreement to go through so we could leave in May. The problem she has is that a lot of people in her own party are saying 'I will reject a long delay, the Prime Minister should go if we get a long delay' without actually suggesting any practical alternative. So there's a lot of people playing games behind her, posturing, not least because they want to replace her as prime minister, and it makes her position really difficult."

7. Headline of The Times newspaper reading (English) "Don't humiliate May, Tusk warns Macron" ++MUTE++

8. Headline of Daily Mail newspaper reading (English) "Another year in limbo" ++MUTE++

9. Headline of The Daily Telegraph newspaper reading "May's fate sealed with a kiss as EU plots long Brexit delay" ++MUTE++

10. Street outside parliament

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Elsbeth Williams, 52, from North Wales, now living in Spain:

"I think she'll definitely get an extension because nobody apart from the absolute disaster capitalists - and there's plenty of those in the ERG (European Research Group) - want to crash out. Business certainly doesn't."

12. Row of anti-Brexit signs outside parliament

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Rob Iddeson, 47, from London:

"It's democracy in process so I'm not angry, I'm disappointed because although I voted to remain the decision was made. It was a democratic decision and from my perspective we should honour that and go forward. So, yeah, not angry but disappointed that it has taken so long."

14. Street outside parliament

15. Exterior of the Palace of Westminster

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday it is "entirely possible" a Brexit agreement with the European Union could be agreed within a few weeks.

Hunt responded after UK Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said on Wednesday he believed a divorce deal could be finalised by November 21.

Hunt stated the two main issues still to be resolved between Britain and the EU were that of the level of free trade and the Irish border.

He said: "I think if we put our minds to it, it's entirely possible that we could resolve those issues."

POOL

London - 31 October 2018

1. UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt at podium

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary:

(Reporter question: "Were you surprised by Dominic Raab's (UK Brexit Secretary) prediction that a Brexit deal will be finalized by the 21st of November? Or do you share that prediction?")

"Well, I think it's entirely possible that we could make progress, enough progress, by then. There are broadly two substantive outstanding issues, they're both pretty difficult ones. One of them is the degree to which our trade is frictionless in the post-Brexit environment and the other is the Northern Irish backstop. But I think if we put our minds to it, it's entirely possible that we could resolve those issues and I think that although there's a degree of doom and gloom about the Brexit talks at the moment, the fact that we've got to this stage a month before, or not quite a month but nearly a month, before the 21st of November and it does boil down to those two issues, I think is broadly encouraging."

3. Hunt leaving to applause

UK Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab on Monday said cabinet ministers had a "good, healthy discussion" on plans for Britain's departure from the EU during a meeting earlier in the day chaired by Prime Minister Theresa May.

May met at No 10 Downing Street with her divided Cabinet, with some Brexit-supporting ministers urging her to seek a looser relationship based on a bare-bones free trade agreement that would leave Britain free to strike new deals around the world.

Pro-Brexit Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg said Britain would prosper under a "Canada Plus" deal - a variation on the free trade agreement struck between Canada and the EU after years of negotiations.

May says a "Canada-style" deal would not prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Asked whether all cabinet members supported May's Chequers plan, he said the prime minister had made it clear the plan was still on the table.

The plan seeks to keep the UK in the EU single market for goods but not for services, in order to ensure free trade with the bloc and an open border between the UK's Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

The Conservative government's blueprint for future trade ties with the bloc was rejected last week by EU leaders at a summit in Salzburg, Austria.

That left May's leadership under siege and Britain at growing risk of crashing out of the EU with no deal in place.

Amid mounting uncertainty, the British government has stepped up preparations for leaving without an agreement - though it insists that outcome is unlikely.

"We're not going to suddenly throw up our hands in despair because we've had a bump in the road in these negotiations. We'll keep calm, we'll hold our nerve and we'll get there," Raab said.

UK POOL

London - 24 September 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominic Raab, UK Brexit Secretary:

"Now look, we had a really good positive discussion about our future approach to immigration, to make sure (we are a) global outward looking country, boosting productivity, but also making sure we deliver on the referendum in taking back control and have the systems in place to achieve that."

(Question: Did everybody, all the cabinet ministers around the table, continue to back Chequers after what happened in Salzburg last week?)

"We had a good, healthy discussion, the prime minister made it clear we're going to keep our calm, hold our nerve and press the EU on some of the criticisms that they've made, but also to be clear that there are no credible alternatives that the EU has come up with. So we got a hold our nerve but continue to negotiate in good faith."

(Question: And I must ask you, will that include coming up with a detailed version of the Irish backstop from the UK perspective before the October summit?)

"We certainly intend to progress the negotiations on Northern Ireland and we're going to be taking that forward shortly."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominic Raab, UK Brexit Secretary:

(Question: There's a lot of Conservative colleagues who back the idea of a more straightforward free trade agreement without the bells and whistles of Chequers, without a common rulebook. What do you say to them? They want the prime minister to chuck Chequers and focus on a Canada-style bid?

"Well, the problem is, that has been made very clear by the EU, that that wouldn't be acceptable to the EU without a backstop arrangement for Northern Ireland that keeps one part of the country in an economic regime totally different from the rest. And I'm not going to, and this government and this prime minister, is not going to accept anything which threatens our precious union. So we'll keep negotiating in good faith but of course we respect different views across the board, but we're not going to suddenly throw up our hands in despair because we've had a bump in the road in these negotiations. We'll keep calm, we'll hold our nerve and we'll get there."

(++EDIT ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++)

As UK's Prime Minister Theresa May wants to start Britain's divorce from the European Union (EU), eleven judges may stand in her way.

On Monday, May's government will ask the justices of the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that Parliament must hold a vote before Britain's exit negotiations can begin, a case that has raised a constitutional quandary and inflamed the country's heated debate about Brexit.

May plans to trigger two years of divorce talks before the end of March 2017 by invoking Article 50 of the EU's key treaty, using centuries-old government powers known as royal prerogative.

The powers - traditionally held by the monarch but now used by politicians - enable decisions about joining or leaving international treaties to be made without a vote of Parliament.

A hairdresser and a financial entrepreneur, Deir Dos Santos and Gina Miller, went to court to argue that leaving the EU will remove some of their rights, including free movement within the bloc, and that shouldn't be done without Parliament's approval.

Last month, three High Court judges agreed, but the government says they have misinterpreted the law.

Government lawyers led by Attorney General Jeremy Wright will argue this week that the British people have spoken by voting in a June 23 referendum to leave the EU.

In written arguments published before Monday's hearing, government lawyers say the use of royal prerogative to start the talks is "constitutionally appropriate and lawful."

Many legal experts say the government will likely lose its appeal and be forced to give Parliament a vote, but the government was left with little choice than to proceed with the case anyway.

"It's politically problematic, I think, to be seen to not pursue all legal avenues to obstruct this attempt to, in the eyes of some critics, derail the Brexit process," says Jeff King, Professor of Law, University College London.

In a reflection of the constitutional importance of the case - which hinges on the balance of power between Parliament and the executive - all 11 Supreme Court judges will hear the appeal, the first time the full court has sat since it was founded in 2009.

The case is scheduled to last four days, with a ruling likely in January.

Complicating the picture are new participants including the Scottish government, which argues the Edinburgh-based Scottish Parliament should get a vote, too.

Britons voted by 52 to 48 percent on June 23 to leave the EU, but voters in Scotland strongly backed staying in, and the Scottish government says they should not be dragged out of the EU against their will.

London - 1 December 2016

1. Exterior of UK Supreme Court building, traffic on street

2. Close of symbol reading (English): "The Supreme Court"

3. Various exteriors of Supreme Court building

4. Various of Jeff King, Professor of Law, University College London, looking at book

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeff King, Professor of Law, University College London:

"Well, I think that there are two reasons probably (why the government appealed the High Court ruling that Parliament must hold a vote before negotiations of Britain's exit from the European Union can begin). The first is that it was very confident that it would win at the beginning, and I think it's reluctant to move from that position of confidence. And secondly, it's politically problematic, I think, to be seen to not pursue all legal avenues to obstruct this attempt to, in the eyes of some critics, derail the Brexit process."

6. Cutaway of King

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeff King, Professor of Law, University College London:

"The reaction in some of the media (to the government's loss in the High Court), in particular in the Daily Mail and the Daily Express was, I would say, outrageous. It has been common to criticise judges in the past and I think criticism of judges is perfectly acceptable - they are public officials after all, but this type of language, 'Enemies of the people' (Daily Mail headline the day after the ruling) reminded me of the kinds of things we saw in Nazi Germany."

8. Cutaway of King

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeff King, Professor of Law, University College London:

"This is quintessentially a role for judges to play. It's an unclear legal position. The devolved governments don't agree, many members of parliament don't agree. There needs to be an authoritative ruling on what the role of these statutes is in the Brexit process, and that can only be given by a court."

10. Cutaway of King

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeff King, Professor of Law, University College London:

"I think that a government loss at the Supreme Court would not derail the Brexit process, but I also think it would be more than a mere speed bump because having to bring forward legislation to give notice would mean that there would be a participation of a much broader range of voices, both in Parliament and in the devolved legislatures and among the devolved governments. And when these voices are heard there is a political obligation of sorts to respond to these voices, to take them into account, to not proceed in a way that ignores them altogether, and I think that will make a difference to the outcome of the Brexit process, but I don't think it will stop it."

12. Cutaway of King

13. Pan of books

14. Various exteriors of Houses of Parliament

Britain should make a clean break with European Union laws and regulations after it leaves the bloc, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Wednesday, arguing that the UK will prosper after Brexit by "going global."

Johnson, who was a leader of the "leave" campaign during Britain's 2016 EU membership referendum, used a speech in London to argue for "an outward-facing, liberal and global Britain" after the UK leaves the bloc.

"We would be mad to go through this process of extrication from the EU and not to take advantage of the economic freedoms it will bring," he said.

It was the first in a series of speeches by senior ministers that the British government hopes will show unity and energy around Brexit after months of prevarication and mixed messages.

But Johnson's speech highlighted divisions within the Conservative government over what kind of relationship Britain wants with the EU after it leaves the bloc in March 2019.

Some ministers, including Treasury chief Philip Hammond, want to stay as close as possible to the bloc's borderless single market and tariff-free customs union. Others, including Johnson, want a definitive break so Britain can pursue a distinct economic policy and new trade deals.

With just over a year until Britain leaves the EU, the two factions are still fighting for supremacy in the UK government.

Johnson said Britain should not agree to accept EU rules in return for access to its markets, saying it would be "absurd if we had to obey laws over which we had no say and no vote."

He said "it's only by taking back control of our regulatory framework and our tariff schedules" that Britain can strike new trade deals with the United States and other countries.

Johnson is among the favourites to replace Prime Minister Theresa May as Conservative leader. But his prominent role in the anti-EU campaign - and an earlier role as a Brussels-based journalist writing sometimes fanciful stories about the bloc's bureaucracy - has made him unpopular with pro-EU politicians and voters.

In his speech, Johnson sought to reassure voters who wanted to remain in the EU that Brexit can be grounds for much more hope than fear.

Opponents of Brexit were unimpressed, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Johnson's claim that the EU aimed to build a European super-state was "total nonsense."

UK POOL

London - 14 February 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"If we are going to accept laws, then we need to know who is making them, and with what motives, and we need to be able to interrogate them in our own language, and we must know how they came in authority over us and how we can remove them. And the trouble with the EU is that for all its idealism, which I acknowledge, and for all the good intentions of those who run the EU institutions, there is no demos – or at least we in the UK I don't think have ever really felt part of such a demos – however others in the EU may feel. The British people have plenty of common sympathies with the people of France, of course we do, but it is hard to deny that we also share common sympathies with plenty of non-EU people – the Americans, the Swiss, the Canadians, the Pakistanis, Thais, and that is one of the reasons why we in the UK have had such difficulty in adapting to the whole concept of EU integration. To understand why EU regulation is not always suited to the economic needs of the UK, it is vital to understand that EU law is a special type of law, unlike anything else on earth. It is not just about business convenience. It is expressly teleological. It is there to achieve a political goal. The aim is to create an overarching European state as the basis for a new sense of European political identity. British politicians, Labour and Tory, have always found that ambition very difficult. It is hard to make it cohere with our particular traditions of independent parliamentary and legal systems that go back centuries, and in spite of many sheep-like coughs of protest from the UK, the process of integration has deepened, and the corpus of EU law has grown ever vaster and more intricate, and ever more powers and competences have been handed to EU institutions, culminating in the Treaty of Lisbon."

++BLACK FRAMES++

2. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"We would be mad to go through this process of extrication from the EU, and not to take advantage of the economic freedoms it will bring. We will stop paying ever more colossal sums to the EU every year and as the Prime Minister herself has said, that will leave us with more to spend on our domestic priorities, including, yes, the NHS. We will be able to take back control of our borders – not because I am hostile to immigrants or immigration. Far from it. We need talented people to come and make their lives in this country – doctors, scientists, the coders and programmers who are so crucial to Britain's booming tech economy. It was my proudest boast as Mayor of London that we had 400-thousand French men and women living in the British capital – high-earning and high-spending types – while only about 20-thousand UK nationals went the other way, lived in Paris. We've got to stay that way, we must remain a magnet for ambition and drive. But we also need to ask ourselves some hard questions about the impact of 20 years of uncontrolled immigration by low-skilled, low-wage workers – and what many see as the consequent suppression of wages and failure to invest properly in the skills of indigenous young people. We do not want to haul up the drawbridge; and we certainly don't want to minimise the wonderful contribution they made and certainly we don't want to deter the international students who make such a vital contribution to our Higher Education economy, 155-thousand Chinese students alone, but we want to exercise control; and if we are going to move from a low-wage, low-productivity economy to a high-wage, high productivity economy – as we must – then Brexit gives us back at least one of the levers that we need."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"It would be absurd if we were obliged to obey laws over which we have no say and no vote. As the Prime Minister said at Lancaster House remaining within the single market 'would to all intents and purposes mean not leaving the EU at all.' The British people should not have new laws affecting their everyday lives imposed from abroad, when they have no power to elect or remove those who make those laws."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"We will decide on laws, not according whether they help to build the United States of Europe, noble goal though that may be, but because we want to create the best platform for the economy to grow and to help people live their lives. And the crucial thing is that when we're running ourselves and when all these freedom are open before us, we'll no longer bbe able to blame Brussels for our woes because our problems will be our responsibility and no one else's and indeed no one should think that Brexit is some sort of economic panacea any more than it is right to treat it as an economic pandemic. On the contrary, the success of Brexit will depend on what we make of it."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary:

"It's only by taking back control of our laws that UK firms and entrepreneurs will have the freedom to innovate without the risk of having to comply with some directive devised by Brussels at the urgings of some lobby group with the specific aim of holding back a UK competitor. That would be intolerable, it would be undemocratic and it would make it impossible for us to do serious free trade deals. It's only by taking back control of our regulatory framework and our tariff schedules that we can do these deals and exploit the changes in the world economy."

++BLACK FRAMES++

The British government is considering its response to the ruling of the speaker of the House of Commons that Prime Minister Theresa May cannot keep asking lawmakers to vote on the same European Union divorce deal they have already rejected twice.

Speaker of the House John Bercow was asked about his decision to use a precedent from the 17th century for a ruling as he walked towards Parliament on Tuesday morning.

He refused to answer.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said Tuesday that the government needs "to look at that ruling."

May has been lobbying opponents in preparation for another vote on her plan.

"If members of parliament themselves are changing their vote that does suggest that circumstances have changed," added Barclay.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 but following the failure of lawmakers to back her withdrawal agreement, May is expected to ask leaders at the summit for an extension to the country's departure date.

UK POOL

London - 19 March 2019

1. John Bercow, speaker of the UK's House of Commons, walking towards coffee shop, reporters shouting questions UPSOUND (English) John Bercow, Speaker of the UK's House of Commons: "Hello. Good morning. I hope you've had some tea or coffee or something or something of that sort."

(Journalist off-camera: "Are your actions going to postpone Brexit Mr Bercow?")

Bercow: "Thank you very much. It's very good of you to turn up in the morning. But as I say, do have some tea or coffee or something of that sort.)

2. Bercow walking away from coffee shop

(UPSOUND (English) Journalist off-camera: "Have you put Brexit in doubt Mr Bercow? Why did you do this Mr Bercow? How do you explain to the public what you did Mr Bercow? Using a precedent from the 17th century - why did you choose to do that Mr Bercow?")

3. Bercow crossing the street

UPSOUND (English) Journalist off-camera: "Mr Bercow, you said..."

John Bercow: "Can I say I really feel you ought to get yourself some coffee or tea. I did offer to buy you all coffee and tea but you declined my kind offer but you've obviously already drunk lots of coffee or tea. I wish you well. It's a very, very impressive bobble hat you're wearing there or perhaps not a bobble hat, but a hat of sorts. Anyway I'm sure people are so very grateful to you for showing such an interest at this time of the morning. Very good of you, very well done."

4. Bercow walking towards the House of Commons

UPSOUND (English) Journalist off-camera: "What next for Brexit, Mr Bercow?"

John Bercow: "Perhaps gentlemen, you'd allow me to proceed to work, thank you. And I wish you a good day. Thank you very much indeed."

Woman on right gate: "Traitor!"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Barclay, Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union:

(answering the question: Has the speaker scuppered Brexit altogether here or has he made a no deal more likely?)

"Well, it's an important ruling from the speaker. He's raised the bar in terms of a third meaningful vote. And, it's important that we give that due consideration, look at that ruling. We've got a discussion at Cabinet later this morning on this. But also the speaker's made a number of rulings in this context and it's important we look at them in the round."

++BLACK FRAME++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Barclay, Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union:

"So, there are a number of rulings that we need to look at. But, it is the case that the speaker's ruling yesterday raises the bar. And we need to see what is different as we approach the next vote. And clearly, if members of parliament themselves are changing their vote that does suggest that circumstances have changed."

++BLACK FRAME++

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Barclay, Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union:

"Well, the objective of the Prime Minister is to secure the deal and to have a short technical extension to allow for the ratification of that deal because that is now inevitable. In terms of any longer extension, well clearly that's only if the deal is not passed. And I think in that instance members of parliament would need to answer to your viewers as to why three years after they voted to leave, the MPs are not acting on what many of them said they would do in their manifesto. And having an extension, even a long extension, without a clarity of purpose as to what it is for, is clearly not the way forward. What we should be doing is getting behind the PM's deal because that is what the business community wants in terms of certainty and it's also what people voted for in the biggest ever vote in our country's history three years ago."

Britain must leave the EU customs union to strike new trade deals after Brexit, the country's trade minister said in a speech in London on Tuesday, widening a major fissure within British politics over future trade relations with the bloc.

UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said 90 percent of global growth in the next 10 to 15 years will be outside Europe, and remaining inside the tariff-free EU trade zone would limit Britain's opportunities to strike new trade deals with the world's fastest-growing economies.

"We cannot afford to be bound by the practices and the patterns of the past. We have to take the opportunities available unfettered by those who would make the rules on our behalf," he said.

But Fox was contradicted by the trade department's former top civil servant, Sir Martin Donnelly, who left his job last year, who said quitting the customs union was like "giving up a three-course meal ... for the promise of a packet of crisps."

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that 60 percent of Britain's trade is with the EU or with countries that have EU trade deals.

"The particular choice that I heard Sir Martin Donnelly outline - that was a choice between the European Union and trade opportunities elsewhere and the continuation of EU trade agreements - I don't believe that is the choice that we face," Fox said, when asked to respond to Donnelly's comments.

And commenting on Sir Martin's claim that Britain would need a Fairy Godmother to get a good EU deal Fox said that Britain needed to look "beyond where we are today."

"I understand as I say that those who have been professionally committed to those for many years would want to adhere to them. I want to think beyond where we are today, to the opportunities available to (in) the future," he told reporters.

Fox spoke a day after opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said his Labour Party would "seek to negotiate a new, comprehensive UK-EU customs union to ensure there are no tariffs with Europe."

The issue is a major fault line in UK Brexit plans. While pro-Brexit politicians such as Fox argue for leaving the customs union and the EU's single market in goods and services, others want Britain to retain close ties with the EU to soften the economic shock of leaving.

UK POOL

London, 27 February 2018

1. Wide of Britain's International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox at lectern UPSOUND (English) Reporter: "Former Permanent Sir Martin Donnelly has likened the plan that you just outlined to swapping a three course meal for a packet of crisps. What's your response to that and are you concerned there are some in the British establishment who still don't accept Brexit and want to stop it?"

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Liam Fox, Britain's International Trade Secretary:

"First of all it's unsurprising that those who spent a lifetime working within the European Union would see moving away from the European Union as being threatening. The particular choice that I heard Sir Martin Donnelly outline - that was a choice between the European Union and trade opportunities elsewhere and the continuation of EU trade agreements - I don't believe that is the choice that we face. We are already trying to seek a full and liberal partnership with the European Union. We are already having discussions about expanding our trade agreements beyond the EU and we're also talking about rolling over the EU agreements into UK law so that we get no disruption in terms of market access at the point of exit. So it's not a choice of one or the other, and in any case I think the UK Brexit process is as we've all discovered a little more complex than a packet of Walkers. When it comes to the other issues is I hope that we'll be able to persuade our colleagues as the prime minister sets out the case that the cabinet decided at Chequers last week that they will find that persuasive and they will understand that the benefits of the approach that the prime minister will set out will actually be to the greater prosperity and security of the people of this country and I hope they will understand that the drawbacks of the customs union that I've set out today would remarkably hinder this country in terms of the future economic opportunities that might otherwise be available.

3. Wide of Fox at lectern

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Liam Fox, Britain's International Trade Secretary UPSOUND (English) Reporter: "Dr Fox, given that your former head of department has said you'd need a Fairy Godmother to get the kind of "have cake and eat it" deal that he says you want with the European Union (reporter appears in shot) and you yourself have said that British business needs to raise its game to take advantage of Brexit. Is the greatest danger that Brexit could lead to national self harm or that there simply aren't enough true believers like you?"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Liam Fox, Britain's International Trade Secretary:

"I think that we need to set out an ambitious programme for the United Kingdom. It's not about sticking to the patterns of the past. And I understand as I say that those who have been professionally committed to those for many years would want to adhere to them. I want to think beyond where we are today, to the opportunities available to (in) the future. The fact, as I said at the beginning, that the IMF has pointed out that 90 percent of global growth will be outside the European continent in the next 10 to 15 years. We cannot afford to be bound by the practices and the patterns of the past. We have to take the opportunities available unfettered by those who would make the rules on our behalf."

6. Wide of Fox at lectern

The United Kingdom's foreign secretary said on Wednesday that Brexit does not mean a return to the 1950s and the days of eating "spam and cabbage and liver".

Delivering a speech in London to argue for "an outward-facing, liberal and global Britain", Boris Johnson said last June's vote to leave the bloc was "about going global".

Johnson was a leader of the "leave" campaign during Britain's 2016 EU membership referendum.

He said that were there to be a second referendum it would be "another year of turmoil and wrangling and feuding in which the whole country would be the loser," adding "let's not go there".

It was the first in a series of speeches by senior ministers that the British government hopes will show unity and energy around Brexit after months of prevarication and mixed messages.

But Johnson's speech highlighted divisions within the Conservative government over what kind of relationship Britain wants with the EU after it leaves the bloc in March 2019.

Some ministers, including Treasury chief Philip Hammond, want to stay as close as possible to the bloc's borderless single market and tariff-free customs union. Others, including Johnson, want a definitive break so Britain can pursue a distinct economic policy and new trade deals.

With just over a year until Britain leaves the EU, the two factions are still fighting for supremacy in the UK government.

Johnson is among favorites to replace Prime Minister Theresa May as Conservative leader. But his prominent role in the anti-EU campaign - and an earlier role as a Brussels-based journalist writing sometimes fanciful stories about the bloc's bureaucracy - has made him unpopular with pro-EU politicians and voters.

UK POOL

London - 14 February 2018

1. UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson preparing to deliver speech

2. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"It's not good enough for us now to say to Remainers 'you lost, get over it' because we must accept that the vast majority are actuated by entirely noble sentiments, a real sense of solidarity with our European neighbours and a desire for the UK to succeed. All I am saying is that by going for Brexit we can gratify those sentiments and more."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"More people voted for Brexit than have ever voted for anything in the history of this country, and I just say in all candour if there were be a second vote I really think it would be another year of turmoil and wrangling and feuding, in which the whole country would be the loser. So let's not go there. Let's instead unite about what we all believe in; an outward-looking, liberal, global future for a confident United Kingdom because so much of this is about confidence and self-belief. We love to run ourselves down, In fact, we're Olympic gold medal winners in the national sport in the sport of national self-deprecation, and in the current bout of 'Brexchosis' we are missing the truth that it is our collective job to ensure that when the history books come to be written Brexit will be seen as just the latest way in which the British bucked the trend, took the initiative and did something that responds to the real needs and opportunities that we face in the world today."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"It's not about shutting ourselves off. It's about going global. It's not about returning to some autarchic, 1950s menu of spam and cabbage and liver, it's about continuing the astonishing revolution in tastes and styles - in the arts, music, restaurants, sports that has taken place in this country in my lifetime - not so much because of EU membership, that would be to commit the fallacy we know in the Foreign Office as post hoc ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this), but as a result of our history and our global links, our openness to people and ideas that has brought three hundred languages onto the streets of London, probably the most diverse capital on earth. In that sense Brexit is about reengaging this country with its global identity and all the energy that can flow from that, and I absolutely refuse to accept the suggestion that it is some un-British spasm of bad manners. It's not some great 'V' sign from the cliffs of Dover, it is the expression of a legitimate and natural desire for self-government of the people, by the people, for the people and that is surely not some reactionary Faragist concept."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"If we get the right deal on aviation and visa-free travel, both of which are in our mutual interest, this expansion of UK tourism will continue - not just beyond the EU but within the EU itself. We will continue to go on cheapo flights to stag parties in ancient cities where we will receive, I am sure, a warm welcome, and meet interesting people, fall in love, struggle amiably to learn the other European languages whose knowledge of which by the way has suffered a paradoxical decline during our membership of the EU. And there is no sensible reason why we should not continue to be able to retire to Spain or indeed anywhere else as we did indeed long before Spain joined what was then called the Common Market. We can continue the whirl of academic exchanges that have been a feature of European cultural life since the Middle Ages and whose speed of cross-pollination has been accelerated by the Internet as well as schemes like Horizon or Erasmus, all of which we can continue to support and whose participating scholars are certainly not confined to the EU."

++BLACK FRAMES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English): Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary

"Our commitment to the defence of Europe is unconditional and immovable. It is made real by the 800 British troops from the 5th Battalion The Rifles I saw recently at Tapa (airbase) in Estonia who have since been relieved by the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh. Already this country is the single biggest spender in the EU both on aid and defence. Although we represent only 13 percent of the EU's population, we contribute 20 percent of defence spending and the RAF 'S giant C17 transport aircraft represent 100 percent of the heavy lift capacity of the whole of Europe, as well as 25 percent of the overseas aid budget. It makes sense for us to continue to be intimately involved in European foreign and security policy, it would be illogical not to discuss such matters as sanctions together, bearing in mind that the UK expertise provides more than half of all EU sanctions listings. We will continue to be European, both practically and psychologically, because our status as one of the great contributors to European culture and civilization and our status as one of the great guarantors of the security of Europe is simply not dependent on the Treaty of Rome as amended at Maastricht or Amsterdam or Lisbon."

7. Johnson leaving

Financial entrepreneur Gina Miller's lawsuit begins with a simple question: can Prime Minister Theresa May start negotiating Britain's exit from the European Union without an act of Parliament?

But the suit, described by some legal experts as the U.K.'s most important constitutional case in decades, seeks to answer much bigger questions about where power lies in this nation's democracy and whether rights can be revoked without a vote of lawmakers.

May says the June 23 referendum on EU membership gave her a mandate to take Britain out of the bloc and that discussing the details of her strategy with Parliament would weaken the government's negotiating position.

May has announced plans to invoke Article 50 of the EU treaty, starting talks on Britain's future relationship with the single market, by the end March.

The lawsuit, hearings on which begin Thursday at the High Court in London, could derail those plans.

Miller, 51, runs SCM Private, an online investment manager, and is also a lawyer.

Miller, who supported the campaign to stay in the EU, says the case isn't about blocking Brexit - or keeping Britain in the EU.

Andrew Blick, an expert on the Magna Carta at King's College London, said the case involves an argument that dates back almost 400 years to the English Civil War as to whether power ultimately rests in the executive or Parliament.

Underscoring the importance of the case, May put Attorney General Jeremy Wright in charge of the legal team fighting the suit, making the announcement with a flourish at the recent Conservative Party Conference as she underscored she would "make a success'' of taking the country out of the EU.

Wright argues that the suit is an attempt to put a legal obstacle in the way of enacting the referendum result.

At issue is May's attempt to use Royal Prerogative, historic powers officially held by the queen, to trigger Article 50.

The powers, which have in reality passed to politicians, enable decisions to be made without a vote of Parliament and cover matters as grave as declaring war or as basic as issuing passports.

Historically, Royal Prerogative has also applied to foreign affairs and the negotiation of treaties.

Miller argues that Parliament should decide whether to invoke Article 50 - after a full debate and vote - because the rights of individuals are being revoked in the process.

Freedom of movement, freedom of trade and freedom to vote in European elections are among the rights that will change.

Politically, though, there's growing cross-party pressure to give Parliament a say on Brexit strategy before Article 50 is invoked.

A motion debated Wednesday in the House of Commons demands that lawmakers have a chance to "properly scrutinize,'' the Brexit strategy before the formal exit process begins.

AP TELEVISION

London - 12 October 2016

1. Big Ben

2. Union flag

3. Big Ben and Parliament

4. Close of Parliament

5. Close of 'Out' sign

6. Pan down of Parliament

7. Set up of Gina Miller, entrepreneur, bringing lawsuit against the Government over Article 50

8. Mid of Miller

9. Close of hands

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Gina Miller, entrepreneur, bringing lawsuit against the Government over Article 50:

"I think it's about whether or not the government can use this ancient Royal prerogative. Because if we can park Article 50 for a moment and Brexit, we have an unwritten, uncoded constitution, which means that if the precedent is set, that a government can bypass parliament, so an MP and a group of ministers, a handful of ministers, can decide your rights and my rights then I think we've rolled back the clock 400 years when it comes to sovereignty and democracy. And that to me is a much much bigger worry than Brexit. I think we go back almost to a dictatorship."

11. Cutaway

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Gina Miller, entrepreneur, bringing lawsuit against the Government over Article 50:

"Our parliament is sovereign. And the idea that Mrs May said that we're going to get back sovereignty, actually Parliament is sovereign and it is only Parliament that can bestow and take away people's rights. And by triggering Article 50 there will inevitably be a reduction in people's rights. So we're going to the courts, and I think the courts need to rule on the legal certainty of how we can leave the EU."

13. Wide of Royal Courts of Justice, which houses High Court

14. Soft focus Royal Courts of Justice sign

15. Tilt down of courts

16. Mid of courts

17. Set up shot of Dr Andrew Blick, Lecturer in Politics and Contemporary History, Kings College London

18. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr Andrew Blick, Lecturer in Politics and Contemporary History, Kings College London:

"There is a kind of grey area, opened up whereby the government think first that they are bound to abide by the result of this referendum. Nothing was said about that in the legislation, but the government believe it's a binding result, that they have to go along with the leave verdict, and they also believe they have the sole power to put that verdict into action under an authority known as the Royal prerogative. Whether or not they really possess that power, whether they really can act unilaterally to take us out of the European Union, to trigger Article 50, of the treaty on the European Union, is what's being tested in the courts."

19. Royal Courts of Justice sign

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Andrew Blick, Lecturer in Politics and Contemporary History, Kings College London:

"Even is something is legal, it doesn't mean that it's constitutional. Just because the government can behave in this way, some people in the court and outside the court may be of the view that that doesn't mean it should behave in this way. And that, actually, whatever the law is in the end, constitutionally, parliament should be more involved in this than the government wants it to be."

21. Royal Courts of Justice sign

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SHOTLIST:

UK POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY

London - 19 February 2019

1. Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader going up to the podium

2.SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader:

"I regret that seven MPs (Members of the Parliament) decided they would no longer remain part of the Labour Party. I thank them for their work. I hope they recognise they were elected to Parliament on a manifesto. That was based around investment in the future, was based around a more equal and fairer society, was based around social justice. And it is that programme I believe that we will be able to put the electorate in the future that does have enormous support. They were elected to carry out those policies. They've decided to go somewhere else and I regret that because I want our party to be strong. I want our party to be united around the policies that we have put forward."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader:

"In the Parliament a couple weeks ago, I put down an amendment to the Prime Minister's motion from the Labour front bench, which included quite specifically the option at the end of the process of a popular vote on any deal that's reached with the European Union. I put it down in line with the policy put forward by our conference. This government is running down the clock and threatening a no-deal exit from the European Union which I think would be very dangerous and very damaging to our economy and jobs all across the country. And we've made that very clear. That is why we did get a backbench motion through parliament which said no deal should be taken off the table. And I see that as an absolute necessity that we take no-deal off the table and we negotiate intelligently with the European Union as to the way forward, which is why I'm taking a delegation to Brussels on Thursday in order to put that forward. Because the worry that people have over investment, over jobs, over supply chains and over education and so many other areas is absolutely serious at the present time. This government has had now two-and-a-half years to negotiate and apparently has no trade deals with anybody else and keeps on threatening no-deal. We will do everything we can to prevent a no-deal Brexit. We will do everything we can to protect jobs and industries across this country and to reach out to those who want to work with us."

++BLACK FRAMES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader:

"We've developed our policies in the party over the past few years by working with our half million members - the biggest membership the Labour Party's ever had. And they are radical policies I acknowledge. They're also very popular policies on housing, on education, on environment, on economy and industrial development and we do our best to put all those policies forward. They are discussed frequently with parliamentary colleagues through select committees through interest groups within the party. And we're making huge progress."

++BLACK FRAMES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader:

"Anyone who thinks they're not being consulted is not taking up, in my view, the opportunities that are available there and open and ready for them at all times to do that. And I'm always prepared to discuss policies with people in the party. And I do all the time."

++BLACK FRAMES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader:

"I am proud to lead the Labour Party. I'm proud of what the Labour Party has achieved. The National Health Service, the Equalities Act, the Human Rights Act. What it's achieved in so many areas of our society. And I recognise that leading the party means you've got to take people with you. And I am determined to do that, determined to do that so that we can when an election comes, present those policies and that determination to the public as a whole."

++BLACK FRAMES++

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader:

"We have to have a deal with the European Union that guarantees trade, guarantees investment, guarantees our rights. A no-deal Brexit would I believe be a very dangerous cliff edge. And I don't want to go over that cliff edge."

++BLACK FRAMES++

8. Corbyn leaving the podium

STORYLINE:

The UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that he has "regret" that seven MPs left the party on Monday, "because I want our party to be strong."

Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker, Mike Gapes and Ann Coffey quit the main opposition Labour Party over its approach to issues including Brexit and anti-Semitism,

Many Labour lawmakers have been unhappy with the party's direction under leader Corbyn, a veteran socialist who took charge in 2015 with strong grass-roots backing.

Speaking at the UK National Manufacturing Conference in London, Corbyn added that "anyone (in the party) who thinks they're not being consulted is not taking up, in my view, the opportunities that are available there and open and ready for them at all times to do that."

The opposition leader also spoke about Brexit, saying that the UK "needs a deal with with the European Union that guarantees trade" and a no-deal Brexit would be a "very dangerous cliff edge."

Corbyn will be taking a delegation to Brussels on Thursday and meet with the chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier.

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An analyst suggested on Monday that the British prime minister's likely delaying of a parliamentary vote on Brexit was a bid to retain her job.

"It appears to be the case that Theresa May has been convinced by party managers that she cannot possibly win this vote and she's very likely to lose it by a very wide margin, said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University in London

"If she were to lose it really badly that could possibly threaten her premiership,"  he added.

May looked set to postpone Parliament's vote on her European Union divorce deal on Monday to avoid a shattering defeat, throwing Brexit plans into chaos just weeks after Britain and the bloc finally reached an agreement.

The House of Commons Speaker's office said May would make a previously unscheduled statement to lawmakers about Brexit at about 3:30 pm (1530 GMT).

The announcement came as May held talks with her Cabinet about the next steps in the Brexit process.

The Press Association news agency and other British media outlets said May had decided to postpone the vote scheduled for Tuesday.

May's office insisted on Monday morning that the vote would definitely be held.

All signs have pointed to a big defeat for the prime minister in Tuesday's vote - a result that could sink May's deal, her leadership, or both.

An updated House of Commons business statement said there would be a statement on "business of the House" after May's address, indicating a sudden change to the parliamentary schedule.

Bale suggested that May might be hoping to "wring some extra concessions out of Brussels and hope that they might be enough to persuade some waverers on her own side to vote for a slightly tweaked withdrawal agreement."

He suggested that the likelihood of a second referendum on Brexit had "increased markedly over the last two or three weeks actually" as "it's going to be very difficult to get an agreement that satisfies parliament."

"I think Theresa May's position after today is going to be a lot more shaky than we had assumed," Bale added.

Meanwhile on Monday the pound sank amid the political chaos, hitting an 18-month low against the US dollar.

May's Conservative government does not have a majority in the House of Commons, and opposition parties - as well as dozens of Conservative lawmakers - say they will not back the divorce deal that May and EU leaders agreed upon last month.

Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc on March 29.

London - 10 December 2018

1. Various of Tim Blake, Politics Professor at London's Queen Mary University,  looking at computer screen

2. SOUNDBITE (Engish) Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University, London:

"It appears to be the case that Theresa May has been convinced by party managers that she cannot possibly win this vote and she's very likely to lose it by a very wide margin. If she were to lose it really badly, that could possibly threaten her premiership, so I think discretion is the better part of valour as far as she's concerned."

3. Various of Tim Blake looking at a computer screen

4. SOUNDBITE (Engish) Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University, London:

"I think what Theresa May is hoping to do still is to wring some extra concessions out of Brussels and hope that they might be enough to persuade some waverers on her own side to vote for a slightly tweaked withdrawal agreement. Whether she can do that, I think, is a moot point."

5. Various of political books on shelf

6. SOUNDBITE (Engish) Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University, London:

"I would imagine that the plan, as far as Theresa May is concerned, is to keep calling her interlocutors in the European Commission, to keep calling heads of government in other countries, to maintain communication with (Irish premier) Leo Varadkar and see if there is anything that they can give her that she can bring back and suggest that she's achieved some kind of concession. I think the problem with that strategy however is that in the end Brexiteers are going to insist that it's written into the legal withdrawal agreement. So the normal diplomatic way of sorting this kind of crisis out, some ambiguous language here, a euphemism there, is not going to work in this case. People want something in black and white and that's why it's going to be so difficult to achieve."

7. Various of political books on shelf

8. SOUNDBITE (Engish) Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University, London:

"I think the chances of a second vote have increased markedly over the last two or three weeks actually. It looks as if it's going to be very difficult to get an agreement that satisfies parliament. We don't have very much time and no deal at least is a theoretical possibility and yet, in parliament and in the country as a whole, it's not a prospect that many people exactly relish. So, given that, it looks, to me anyway, as if a second referendum might be the only exit at what appears at the moment anyway to be effectively a burning building."

9. Various of Queen Mary University exterior

10. SOUNDBITE (Engish) Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University, London:

"I think Theresa May's position after today is going to be a lot more shaky than we had assumed. We can't be absolutely sure these 48 letters will go in but I think the kind of chaos that saying you're going to hold the vote, then suddenly deciding not to, suggests is at the very heart of government is going to make some conservative MPs that actually she just simply cannot do this, she isn't the person who can negotiate a changed agreement with the EU, she isn't the person who can get agreement across parliament and they will have to replace her with someone who is. Whether that person is actually out there however I think is another matter."

11. Wide of Queen Mary University exterior

British Prime Minister Theresa May was meeting with her cabinet Tuesday, a day after Brexit talks between her government and the main opposition Labour Party resumed with little sign of progress.

Senior Conservative and Labour officials have been meeting for weeks in an attempt to find a compromise Brexit deal that can win majority support in Parliament.

Labour Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer told Monday's Guardian newspaper his party would only support a deal if was put to a referendum vote.

May has rejected a new referendum, saying voters made their decision in 2016 when they narrowly opted to leave the EU.

If the cross-party talks fail, the government says it will give Parliament votes on a series of Brexit options in an attempt to see if any has majority support.

The UK's departure from the EU, long set for March 29, has been delayed until Oct. 31 while Britain's politicians try to break the deadlock.

UK POOL

London - 14 May 2019

1. Business Secretary Greg Clark arriving for cabinet meeting, pan to Minister of State for Immigration, Caroline Nokes arriving

2. Housing Secretary James Brokenshire arriving

3. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling arriving

4. Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Stephen Barclay arriving

5. Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd arriving

6. International Development Secretary, Rory Stewart arriving

7. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt arriving with International Trade Secretary Liam Fox

8. Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns arriving

9. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley arriving

10. Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt arriving

11. Education Secretary, Damian Hinds arriving

12. Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Elizabeth Truss arriving

13. Health Secretary Matt Hancock arriving

14. Justice Secretary David Gauke arriving

15. Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright arriving

16. Home Secretary Sajid Javid arriving

Britain woke up Thursday to a new Brexit deadline of 31 October, prompting one of the country's newspapers to brand it a Haloween nightmare for prime minister Theresa May.

Most of Britain's media led on the new deadline, granted by European Union leaders after an emergency summit in Brussels.

Top political analyst Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at Kings College London, said the delay could prompt new pressure on May to resign after European elections next month.  

"I think there is a real mood of discontent within the (Conservative) party and I suspect we might see an attempt to get rid of her, probably not until after the European elections, but certainly thereafter," Menon said.

May's own authority has been gravely compromised by the long Brexit ordeal and she has already promised to step down once Britain leaves the bloc.

London - 11 April 2019

1. European Union and British flags outside parliament

2. People talking in park outside parliament

3. Houses of Parliament

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs, Kings College London:

"I think the big question is, what it means for Theresa May. Actually, it doesn't change much at all in terms of Parliament. There's still no majority for anything. You could argue that with no time pressure now until October there's even less chance of Parliament agreeing on anything. So the big question is whether Theresa May's party allows her to stay in charge or not. And I think there is a real mood of discontent within the party and I suspect we might see an attempt to get rid of her, probably not until after the European elections, but certainly thereafter."

5. Newspaper headline reading (English) "It's a Brexit Halloween nightmare"

6. Newspaper headline reading (English) "Europe listens to May and says no. Britain told leave by October 31st."

7. Newspaper headline reading (English) "Trick or treat"

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs, Kings College London:

"You know, there seems to be those who think it is good politics for (French President Emmanuel) Macron at home to stand up to the British. One of the things that certainly seems to have happened is he's annoyed a lot of people in Brussels last night by what many saw as his unnecessary theatrics."

9. Statue outside parliament

10. Police outside parliament

11. Flags on street outside parliament

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs, Kings College London:

"I think the European Union is perfectly content with where it is. I think there's a growing sentiment among the 27 (other European Union member nations) that wish we'd get this over and done with. The solution they've come up with this fine, if we don't have the elections we're forced out on the 1st of June. We do have the European Parliament elections we have until October to figure this out. Everyone would prefer Brexit to be orderly. So let's hope that we find some way of bringing this to an orderly conclusion over the next six months."

13. British flag waving

14. Wide of Parliament and the Palace of Westminster

Small groups of protesters held rival demonstrations on Monday as judges inside the Supreme Court in London were hearing arguments as to whether the government had the right to leave Europe without parliamentary approval.

Britain's Supreme Court began hearing a landmark case on Monday that will decide who has the power to trigger the UK's exit from the European Union - the government or Parliament.

The legal battle has major constitutional implications for the balance of power between the legislature and the executive, and has inflamed Britain's already raw wound over how and whether to leave the EU.

Prime Minister Theresa May plans to trigger Article 50 of the EU's key treaty by the end of March, using centuries-old government powers known as royal prerogative.

The powers - traditionally held by the monarch but now used by politicians - enable decisions about joining or leaving international treaties to be made without a parliamentary vote.

London - 5 December 2016

1. Pro-Europe demonstration in front of Supreme Court

2. Tilt down of sign reading (English): "Stop Brexit fight racism and the scapegoating of immigrants. Defend freedom of movement."

3. Various of pro-Europe protesters chanting, holding banners

4. Pan from police to protesters in front of Supreme Court

5. Rival protest groups in front of Supreme Court, police officers at scene

6. Pro-Europe protesters shouting (English): "Brexit is racist, stop Brexit now!"

7. Smart phone screen showing protesters

8. Rival protesters discussing

9. Pro-Brexit protesters, woman waving Union flag

10. Man being led away by police

11. Policewoman

12. Supreme Court and protesters