“We will invoke Article 50 no later than the end of March next year.”

While the prime minister previously had hinted she planned to initiate Britain’s EU exit early next year, many observers had speculated she would wait until France’s presidential election ends in May or perhaps even the Germany elections, set for the late summer or fall of next year. Reacting to Mrs May's comments about Article 50:

The CBI said there was still an "urgent need for answers" on single market access and business regulations

The cross-party Open Britain campaign warned Mrs May about being "gung ho" and said she should not "expect any favours from Parliament" on her repeal bill

Labour's shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said the Article 50 commitment was "meaningless" without the government saying what it wanted to achieve

European Council President Donald Tusk said the announcement brought "welcome clarity"

Scotland's Brexit minister warned the Scottish Parliament might block the "Great Repeal Bill"

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was "depressing" that government decisions were "being driven by ideology of the hard Brexiteers, rather than interests of country"

Leading Brexit campaigner Iain Duncan Smith said the PM had set a "fairly reasonable" timetable and thought Article 50 could be triggered sooner than March

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron called for clarity before Article 50 was triggered, adding: "We can't start the process without any idea of where we're going"

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May confirms Article 50 deadline

The PM, who had previously only said she would not trigger Article 50 this year, ended speculation about the government's timetable on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning. It means that the authority of EU law in Britain will end.”

May and the Brexit secretary, David Davis, will use the opening day of the conference to detail plans for their “great repeal” bill that will allow Britain to “take back control” of its legislation. Ahead of her speech on Brexit at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Mrs May told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “As you know, I have been saying that we wouldn’t trigger it before the end of this year so that we get some preparation in place. “It’s not just important for the UK but important for Europe as a whole that we’re able to do this in the best possible way so we have the least disruption for businesses, and when we leave the EU we have a smooth transition from the EU.”

Mrs May said Parliament will be kept informed, adding: “This is not about keeping silent for two years, but it’s about making sure that we are able to negotiate, that we don’t set out all the cards in our negotiation because, as anybody will know who’s been involved in these things, if you do that up front, or if you give a running commentary, you don’t get the right deal.”

The Prime Minister was challenged on how she will seek to control immigration post-Brexit. European Communities Act 1972

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May told the BBC's Andrew Marr that repealing the EU act will make the UK "sovereign and independent"

In 1972 the UK Parliament passed the European Communities Act

It gave direct effect to EU law, so if there is a conflict between an act of the UK Parliament and EU law, Westminster loses out and EU law prevails

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) became a kind of Supreme Court of Europe, interpreting EU law with judgements that were binding on all member states

Did the UK lose its sovereignty in 1972? Brexit Secretary David Davis will also tell the conference: “To those who are trying to frighten British workers, saying ‘when we leave, employment rights will be eroded’, I say firmly and unequivocally, ‘no they won’t’.”

The Bill is expected to be brought forward in the next parliamentary session (2017-18) and will not pre-empt the two-year process of leaving the EU, which begins when the Government triggers Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. At the same time, the new Bill will convert existing EU law into domestic law, while allowing Parliament to amend or repeal any other EU law after scrutiny and debate. “That is what people voted for: power and authority residing once again with the sovereign institutions of our own country.”

The repeal bill will also end the primacy of EU law, meaning rulings by the European court of justice will stop applying to the UK once the legislation takes effect.
Theresa May, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announces March 2017 as the deadline for triggering Article 50 and says that her government will introduce a "Great Repeal Bill" that will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 once the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.