Nicola Sturgeon rallies towards second Scottish indyref after Supreme Court's Brexit ruling
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has raised the prospect of a second Scottish referendum after the Supreme Court ruled the Government need not consult with the devolved powers before triggering Brexit.
Reacting to the ruling, she said: "It is becoming clearer by the day that Scotland's voice is simply not being heard or listened to within the UK."
While the justices ruled MPs in Westminster must be given a vote before the Government can trigger Article 50, they unanimously ruled the assemblies in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast do not need to give their formal approval through a vote.
What was the legal claim for the devolved powers to get a vote?
The legal challenge chiefly related to two sections of 1998's Northern Ireland Act (sections 1 and 75) that established devolved powers.
The justices concluded neither section was of assistance in the Brexit legal case.
Scottish Lord Advocate James Wolffe, arguing that the Scottish parliament's consent should be sought by the UK government, cited the Sewel Convention, which demands Holyrood be consulted when Westminister legislation affects devolved areas.
But while the justices noted the Sewel Convention was an important political convention they ruled it carried no legal obligation on the administration in Westminster.
Why does the ruling affect renewed claims for Scottish independence?
The SNP leader said the unanimous court ruling on Brexit showed a key part of devolution legislation was "not worth the paper it was written on".
Reacting to the verdict, Ms Sturgeon said: "It is now crystal clear that the promises made to Scotland by the UK Government about the Sewel Convention and the importance of embedding it in statute were not worth the paper they were written on."
The Supreme Court's ruling means Ms Sturgeon's pledge to give MSPs at Holyrood a vote on Article 50 will now be purely symbolic.
Scotland voted to stay in the UK in a referendum in September 2014, with 55% rejecting the move to independence.
What were the other responses on the devolved power ruling?
The Welsh Government offered a different interpretation of the Sewel Convention as it welcomed the Supreme Court judgment.
Plaid Cymru described the judgment as "disappointing" and said it "regrets" the Welsh Assembly has been left without a voice in the Article 50 process.
A Welsh Conservative source said the ruling was "expected" and criticised the Welsh Government for wasting taxpayers' money on taking its case to the Supreme Court.
Alongside Ms Sturgeon's response, former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond confirmed the SNP will put forward dozens of "serious and substantive" amendments to the Government's Brexit legislation.
Mr Salmond, the party's international affairs spokesman, said the amendments would ensure the devolved administrations are treated as "equal partners".
The Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson accused the SNP of using the hearing "to hold the rest of the UK to ransom".
"It has comprehensively failed to do so," she said. "All parties should now respect the ruling that the court has given."
In Northern Ireland DUP MP Sammy Wilson backed the Supreme Court's decision on the role of the devolved powers, saying anything to the contrary would have been "totally irrational".
The leader of the Traditional Unionists also welcomed the ruling on the devolved powers as a "good decision for the unity of the United Kingdom".
Ulster Unionist MPs Tom Elliott and Danny Kinahan said it was "welcome" that "clarity has finally been given on this issue," adding: "The challenge now is to secure the best deal for Northern Ireland."
But SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the judgment marks a "significant and serious departure from our devolution settlement".
Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams warned Brexit "will undermine the institutional, constitutional and legal integrity of the Good Friday Agreement".