CHEERS rang out in the House of Commons after key Brexit legislation received formal approval from the Queen.
A group of Conservative MPs expressed their delight after Speaker John Bercow announced that royal assent had been granted to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act.
Prime Minister Theresa May told senior colleagues at Cabinet that the granting of assent was "a historic moment for our country and a significant step towards delivering on the will of the British people".
May thanked Brexit Secretary David Davis, chief whip Julian Smith and the Government's Leader in the Lords Baroness Evans for their hard work delivering legislation which she said would be "a major building block for the UK's bright future outside the EU".
The PM's official spokesman said that all Cabinet ministers around the table indicated their satisfaction at the achievement of royal assent.
The legislation, which enables EU law to be transferred into UK law, has now completed its parliamentary journey.
It has done so without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.
The legislation will now continue with its remit to take control of key powers that, under the devolution settlment, should have been delivered to the Scottish Parliament upon leaving the EU.
It was first introduced in July 2017 and subjected to fierce debate in the Commons and Lords as it was analysed line by line, with peers alone spending more than 100 hours considering it.
May suffered her first major Commons defeat over the Act, with enough Tory MPs rebelling over giving Parliament a "meaningful vote" on the final Brexit deal.
The Lords, where the Government does not have a majority, also made 15 key changes, which were later overturned by MPs.
May last week risked a further Commons defeat over the "meaningful vote" issue before assurances were made to Tory former attorney general Dominic Grieve, who later backed down.
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