Tim Farron criticises Theresa May's Brexit bill for being 'short and not sweet' ahead of Article 50 vote

'That's only five words a day since Brexit'

Liberal Democrats vow to oppose the Bill unless there is a guarantee of a second referendum (PA)

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has criticised Theresa May's Brexit bill ahead of the vote on Article 50 for being "short and not sweet".

The Government was forced to draw up the legislation after losing an appeal at the Supreme Court, where judges ruled Parliament must give permission to start the process of divorcing Britain from the EU.

“This Bill is short and not sweet," Mr Farron said. "Given how long he’s been campaigning to leave, it’s amazing this 133 word bill took David Davis such long time — that’s only five words a day since Brexit.

The bill is only a handful of lines long

“Take back control was a mantra of the leave campaign, but this government’s extreme reluctance to involve parliament in this process has instead been an affront to parliamentary sovereignty and democracy.

“With Labour totally confused over Brexit and the Conservatives determined to take us out of Europe and the Single Market at any cost, only the Liberal Democrats are fighting for full membership of the Single Market and a public vote on the final deal.”

The Liberal Democrats have vowed to oppose the Bill unless there is a guarantee of a second referendum on the final Brexit deal agreed with Brussels.

The SNP has indicated all 50 of its MPs will table 50 amendments to the legislation.

The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill is being rushed through Parliament in order to meet Ms May's deadline for triggering Article 50 by the end of March.

The second reading, the first Commons hurdle for the Bill, will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday and some MPs are expected to oppose it outright.

It will then undergo its committee stage the following week, which is when the Government will face numerous attempts to amend the legislation from MPs on all sides.

The legislation, which has just two clauses including the description of its short title, is "straightforward", the Department for Exiting the European Union said.

Brexit Secretary David Davis said: "The British people have made the decision to leave the EU and this Government is determined to get on with the job of delivering it.

"So today we have introduced a Bill in Parliament which will allow us to formally trigger Article 50 by the end of March.

"I trust that Parliament, which backed the referendum by six to one, will respect the decision taken by the British people and pass the legislation quickly."