A tax barrister has raised over £70,000 to challenge the Brexit process in the Irish courts, our sister publication Irish Legal News reports.

Jolyon Maugham QC has said he plans to take the Irish State, the European Council and the European Commission to court on behalf of UK MEPs, who intend to have key questions referred to the European Court of Justice.

According to the crowdfunding page, those questions are: whether a notification under Article 50 can be revoked; and whether Brexit means the UK will automatically leave the European Economic Area.

Mr Maugham said the case is being taken in Ireland because “the Irish government has, we say, colluded in a breach of the EU Treaties by wrongly excluding the UK from meetings of the EU Council”.

He added: “Put aside the legal niceties, what no one can dispute is that there are incredibly important questions to answer.

“Should Parliament control the terms on which we Brexit? Could we have a referendum on the final deal – or is the consequence of triggering Article 50 that we will leave the EU whatever the terms? By triggering Article 50, does the UK also leave the EEA, or is there a separate decision to make about whether we remain in the European Economic Area and Single Market?

“Everyone – those who voted Leave and Remain; the people and government of Ireland – deserves to know the answer to these questions. People must plan their lives. Businesses need certainty to invest. The people of Ireland are entitled to a Government that can work for the best possible future for Ireland. It’s right that we all have the maximum certainty that the law can give. And referring these questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union is the only way to deliver that certainty.”

Mr Maugham said he had taken advice from Dublin firm McGarr Solicitors and senior counsel at the Irish bar.

The statement of claim, which has been published on Mr Maugham’s website, was settled by Dublin barrister Joseph Dalby SC.