The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) spent 3.7m on legal costs during the last financial year, including more than 1.2m on Brexit litigation, its accounts have revealed.
After staff costs of 14m, legal costs represented DExEU's second most significant area of spend.
Of the total of 3.7m, 1.2m related to the legal challenges brought against the triggering of Article 50, as well as costs associated with Article 127 litigation, which concerns Britain's membership of the European Economic Area.
The legal challenges cost the department 728,000 in legal fees ( 345,000) and counsel fees and disbursement ( 383,000), while court ordered third party litigation costs totalled 493,000.
Of the department's remaining legal costs, 2.2m related to routine fixed fee policy advice.
Mishcon de Reya took the lead role on the Article 50 challenge, which was brought by a group of claimants including investment manager Gina Miller, who argued that Article 50 should not be triggered without an act of Parliament.
The Government appealed the High Courts's decision that parliament must vote on the triggering of Article 50, but the ruling was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court.
Miller was represented in court by David Pannick QC of Blackstone Chambers, while the Government was represented by UK attorney general Jeremy Wright QC and Blackstone's James Eadie QC.