Britain's House of Lords could delay the process of the UK's exit from the European Union which could lead to a second referendum, a senior Conservative party peer warned today.
Baroness Wheatcroft said she hoped that a pause in introducing Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the official trigger for Brexit, could lead to British public potentially changing its mind.
"If it comes to a Bill, I think the Lords might actually delay things. I think there's a majority in the Lords for remaining," she told 'The Times'.
Asked whether she would support peers in the Upper House of Britain delaying Brexit legislation, theformer editor in chief of the 'Wall Street Journal Europe'replied: "Yes I would. AndI would hope, while we delayed things, that there would be sufficient movement in the EU to justify putting it to the electorate, either through a general election or a second referendum."
A legal challenge on whether the UK government can trigger Article 50 without the authorisation of Parliament will be heard in the High Court in the coming months.
It follows the June 23 referendum when the British electorate voted 52 to 48 per cent in favour of leaving the 28-member bloc.
Once Article 50 is invoked, the process of Brexit is in theory irreversible, with the process itself estimated to take anything between two years and a decade.
Theresa May, who took charge as Britain's Prime Minister following the Brexit vote, has indicated that the official process will not start before the end of the year, and also said that the position of the constituent UK countries in negotiations must be made clear in advance.
She has repeatedly stressed that "Brexit means Brexit" and that her government's focus will be on securing the best possible deal for the UK outside the EU.
