The Court of Session in Edinburgh has made a referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the question whether the UK Parliament can revoke Article 50 TEU with the permission of the EU’s other member states.

Last week, the court denied the government permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court but it is now seeking a further appeal and has asked for the hearing at the CJEU, to take place in two weeks, to be cancelled.

Jo Maugham QC, a petitioner in the case, said an adjournment would be “as good as a defeat”.

He added: “The government can see very clearly that if MPs know that they have a good alternative, it will make them even less likely to support the government’s deal. That’s why they’re very concerned about this case.

“It feels to us like this is an ugly and expensive attempt to keep parliament in the dark and a wasteful use of public money.”

One legal source in the case said the government was likely using delay tactics.

They added: “This is a further delay on their part. They could have notified us of this on Friday and given us the weekend to work on it, especially given the tight timeframe.”

Green MSP Andy Wightman, a petitioner, said the appeal was a “desperate attempt by the UK government to frustrate the hearing due to be heard in the Court of Justice”.

He added: “If the Supreme Court grants this appeal we are in uncharted territory.”

A spokesman for the government said: “We will not comment further on ongoing litigation but we will not be revoking Article 50.”