Ahead of the court hearing over British government's appeal against the legal challenge to Brexit on December, the country's EU referendum "was not legally binding," a Supreme Court judge said, the Independent reported yesterday.

Britain's Supreme Court said it has set aside four days starting on Dec. 5 to hear the government's appeal against a landmark ruling that it must seek parliament's approval to start the Brexit process.

All 11 Supreme Court judges will hear the case, which could delay Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, and will deliver their judgement "probably in the New Year", a court statement said. The government insists it will stick to its timetable for Brexit whatever the outcome of the court case.

British PM Theresa May's Conservative government is appealing against a High Court ruling last week that it does not have the executive power alone to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which begins exit negotiations.

In a shock referendum result, Britain voted on June 23 to leave the 28-nation European Union. British Prime Minister Theresa May said early October that she will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - which sets the rules for a two-year negotiating process for a nation leaving the EU - by the end of March. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told the BBC that his government will pursue a "full Brexit," apparently implying that it will not try to remain in the EU single market.

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has accused British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson of giving Britons an unachievable vision of the U.K.'s future outside the European Union. Dijsselbloem told the BBC that Johnson "is offering to the British people options that are really not available."

Johnson has been touring European Union capitals as Britain prepares to start exit negotiations with the 28-nation bloc. On Tuesday the British government strongly rejected a report by a consultant for Deloitte claiming it had no coherent plan for Brexit.