THE government’s recognition of Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s head of state would be illegal under international law, the High Court has heard.

Lawyers representing the board of Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV), appointed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, said such a “premature” step to recognise the opposition figure would be “an impermissible intervention in the affairs of Venezuela.”

The claim was made during a legal battle over the fate of about $1 billion (£800 million) in gold bullion, held in the vaults of the Bank of England (BoE) on behalf of the BCV, which the Maduro leadership says it wants to sell to help tackle the country’s coronavirus crisis.