Brexit dispute over parliamentary vote on Article 50 reaches UK high court

As the British pound continues to slump, a lawsuit demanding a parliamentary vote on the terms of the UK's exit from the EU has reached London High Court. Consumers, meanwhile, have been hit by 'Marmitegate.'

The battle over Brexit reached new heights on Thursday as the UK's High Court heard the legal challenge against Prime Minister Theresa May's right to start Brexit negotiations.

The case, launched in the aftermath of Britain's June referendum, seeks to challenge May's assertion that she, as prime minister, has the right to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty. Setting the article in motion would spark two years of negotiations on Britain's departure from the bloc.

The UK government says it has "royal prerogative" - a type of executive privilege - to negotiate Brexit without needing a legally-binding parliamentary vote.

British PM Theresa May has said that the claimants are trying to 'subvert' the results of June's Brexit referendum

The claimants - which include a hairdresser, an expatriate living in France and co-founder of investment fund SCM Private, Gina Miller - argue, however, that the Brexit process cannot begin without parliamentary approval.

"This is not about whether we should stay or leave - this is actually about how we leave," Miller said ahead of Thursday's hearing.

"If we bypass or we set a precedent ... that a prime minister can decide what rights we have and what rights we don't, then basically we go back to being a dictatorship and we roll back democracy 400 years."

British lawmakers to 'scrutinize' Brexit terms

The British prime minister has previously accused the claimants of trying to "subvert" the results of the referendum which saw 52 percent of the UK vote in favor of leaving the EU.

Despite signaling on Wednesday that she would let lawmakers scrutinize her Brexit plan before triggering Article 50, May stopped short of allowing MPs to vote on her proposals.

The PM made it quite clear that any feedback would not change the outcome of the referendum.

"The UK will be leaving the European Union. We're not asking ourselves what bits of membership we want to retain," May said.