Pound soars as High Court rules government can’t trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval

THE pound soared following a High Court ruling that the government cannot trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval.

The ruling saw sterling shoot past 1.24 US dollars, up nearly 1 per cent compared to yesterday.

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It's the first time its broken above $1.24 in three weeks. The pound also hit a one-week high of 89.135p per euro after the decision was announced.

The pound had fallen by around 20 per cent against the US dollar and about 15 per cent against the Euro since Britain voted to leave the European Union.

It's not all good news through, as the the pound still has a way to go before it recovers to pre-referendum levels.

At the moment it is trading 14.5 per cent lower against the euro and 16.5 per cent lower against the US dollar compared to before the EU referendum.

Today, three senior judges ruled the Prime Minister does not have power to use the prerogative to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the UK's exit from the European Union - without the prior authority of Parliament.

It leaves Theresa May's plan for Brexit in tatters as it means she cannot kick-start the process of leaving the EU without MP's consent.

Neil Wilson, markets analyst at ETX Capital, said: "Most MPs are natural Remainers, although they would face intense pressure from constituents to deliver the referendum mandate."

A number of retailers,  manufacturers and businesses have put up their prices - or threatened to - because of the weak pound.

If the value of sterling doesn't recover it means that it's more expensive for firms to make or import goods to the UK and these higher costs are now starting to filter through to the checkouts.

Big names, including British Airways, Unilever, Nestle, have all said that currency fluctuations will or already have had an impact on prices.