Article 50

The UK notified the EU on Monday of its intention to invoke Article 50 and will now prepare for a lengthy legislative and political program which promises to be anything but clear-cut.

"Last June, the people of the UK made the historic decision to leave the EU. Next Wednesday, the government will deliver on that decision and formally start the process by triggering Article 50," Brexit secretary David Davis said in a statement Monday.

The PM's announcement on triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - which begins the formal negotiation process - means the UK looks set to leave the EU by the summer of 2019.

Mrs May also promised a bill to remove the European Communities Act 1972 from the statute book.

She said this would make the UK an "independent, sovereign nation".

The repeal of the 1972 Act will not take effect until the UK leaves the EU under Article 50.