LONDON: Sterling skidded on Tuesday to its weakest since June 2017 after Prime Minister Theresa May's government was found in contempt of parliament for refusing to release its full legal advice on Brexit.

The pound erased all of its earlier gains and fell half a percent to a low of $1.2659 after May lost the vote, tumbling past a previous 2018 low hit in August.

Sterling was down 0.2 percent against the euro at 89.38 pence, the lowest since end-September with the lost vote underlining the depth of opposition among lawmakers to May's deal on leaving the European Union.