SCOTLAND should get a special Brexit deal, Sir Keir Starmer, Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, has said as he made clear his party would not vote against Article 50, which triggers the start of Britain's two-year divorce from Brussels.

Appearing on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, Sir Keir said Labour wanted the UK to have the “best possible access to the single market, it should be in the customs union and there should be special arrangements for Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland”.

The Labour frontbencher did not elaborate on his comments but they come as Scottish Labour explores a federalist solution to Brexit that would allow Scotland to remain part of the European Union while staying part of the United Kingdom.

Scottish peer Lord Falconer, the former justice secretary, is preparing a report on a potential federalist option.

In July, Ms Dugdale said: “What I am arguing for is there may be a possibility that Scotland could retain its place both in the UK and in the EU through a potential - and I have to say this tentatively - a potential federalist solution which could see us achieve that."

The SNP Government initially also pushed for the option of Scotland remaining in the EU while the rest of the UK left it following the June 23 vote. But it is now focusing on how Scotland could remain a member of the European single market while the UK leaves it.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is being advised on possible options by a group of experts and is expected to publish them by Christmas.

However, the UK Government has made clear there will be no special Brexit deal for Scotland.

Prime Minister Theresa May and David Davis, the Brexit secretary, have stressed how the UK voted as one Union and would leave the EU as one Union while stressing that there would be full consultation with the Scottish Government on Whitehall’s approach to the negotiations with Brussels.

Last month, David Mundell, the Scottish secretary, told MSPs that Scotland would not get a "special deal" when the UK left the EU but there could be "differential" arrangements within the single UK deal for some sectors such as the financial services industry.

Mr Davis is due to chair the first meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on Brexit this week and this afternoon will give a Commons statement on Thursday's High Court ruling in which judges said that the UK Government had to consult with Westminster on its Brexit strategy before Article 50 is triggered ie have a vote on it.

Downing Street signalled that the “logical conclusion” of the High Court’s ruling was that there would have to be an Act of Parliament debated and voted on by the Commons and the Lords. This appeared to knock back the idea that MPs could be presented with a simple resolution, which could be fast-tracked through Westminster.

And while the PM’s spokesman did not deny draft legislation was already being drawn up as a contingency, he stressed that the Uk Government was confident it would succeed in getting the ruling overturned when it is considered by the UK Supreme Court in early December.

Last week, Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that the Scottish Government would “actively consider” getting involved in the court action; it had a QC observing the court proceedings in London.

It is believed that while a final decision has not been made – the FM is due shortly to meet with the Lord Advocate to discuss the issues concerned – it is now highly likely that the SNP administration will get involved in the court battle given that its counterpart in Cardiff has said it intends to. The Scottish Government’s focus will be to argue that Holyrood should have a say on not only the Brexit strategy but also the final deal; both prospects are anathema to Mrs May as it is almost certain that Nationalist, Liberal Democrat and Green MSPs would vote against anything that smacked of a hard Brexit package.

After some confusion over Labour’s stance on triggering Article 50 over the weekend, Sir Keir made clear his party, while wanting more details about the UK Government’s basic plan for Brexit so there could be a consensual approach, would not block the process of Britain leaving the EU.

Asked if he could see any circumstances in which Labour would vote against triggering Article 50, the shadow Brexit secretary said his party would "not frustrate the process". Asked if that was a No, he replied: “Yes.”

Meanwhile, barristers have warned that Mrs May and Lord Chancellor Liz Truss risked showing "tacit approval" for attacks on the High Court judges following last week's Brexit ruling.

Amid a furious row over media commentary on the judges' decision, the PM, on a trade mission to India, highlighted the value of an independent judiciary but added: "I also value the freedom of our press."

On Saturday, Ms Truss said the independence of the judiciary was the "foundation upon which our rule of law is built" following widespread pressure to condemn the coverage.

Francis FitzGibbon QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, which has nearly 4,000 members, responded by saying: "Neither the Lord Chancellor nor the Prime Minister have done what they ought to do and unreservedly condemn both the calling of judges 'enemies of the people', the demands for their dismissal, and the making of their blameless personal lives into objects of reproach.

"Standing by and saying nothing may not be meant as such but is likely to be seen as tacit approval for what has gone on and encouragement for more of the same.”

He added: "In these disturbed times, dignified silence doesn't work because there are too many people who will see it as a green light."