Brexit
‘One million’ march to STOP Brexit: Organisers of People’s Vote protest in London claim biggest turnout since Iraq march in 2003 – as petition to cancel withdrawal hits 4.5million
Anti-Brexit protesters have travelled from all over the country to London for the ‘Put it to the People March’ as the online petition urging the government to cancel Brexit passed four and a half million signatures.
Opponents of Britain’s departure from the European Union began gathering in Hyde Park from 12pm before converging on Westminster and organisers claim a million people turned up to voice their concerns over the decision to leave the EU.
If true, today’s demonstration would be the biggest since 2003 when an estimated one million people protested against the Iraq War in the streets of London.
Speakers who addressed a rally outside Parliament included Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and opposition Labour deputy leader Tom Watson. ADVERTISING
Other speakers included former Conservative cabinet minister Justine Greening and ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve, former Tory turned independent MP Anna Soubry, Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford.
Organisers claimed that one million protesters came to the protest, after previously saying they were confident that the size of the crowd would exceed a similar rally held in October, where 700,000 people turned up.
The Metropolitan Police refused to comment on the size of the march.
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Thousands of people gathered in Hyde Park from 12pm before converging on Westminster to take part in the Put It To The People march
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The exact number of people at the march has yet to be determined but photos show large crowds and organisers are confident the final number will be more than 700,000 Video playing bottom right…Click here to expand to full page
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A demonstrator sits on one of the lions in Trafalgar Square during the march. The young man holds an ‘I love Europe’ sign
Addressing the crowd in Parliament Square, Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson said: ‘We are one million strong.’
He said he was there on behalf of his 10-year-old daughter.
‘She has told me to thank you for campaigning for her future,’ he said.
Mr Watson said the Prime Minister’s deal ‘pleases no-one’.
‘If you voted remain it’s a rubbish deal, if you voted leave it’s a lousy deal. There are no winners, only losers,’ he said.
He added: ‘Brexit is stuck in the parliamentary pipeworks and it’s not going to find a way out.’
Addressing his comments to Theresa May, he said: ‘I can only vote for a deal if you let the people vote on it too.
‘Prime Minister, you’ve lost control of this process, you’re plunging the country into chaos, let the people take control.’
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Trains, coaches and buses were chartered to bring as many people as possible, from all around the country to today’s anti-Brexit march in London
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A demonstrator paste an anti-Brexit sticker by the entrance of the UK government’s Cabinet Office during today’s protest
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Anti-Brexit placards are placed outside the entrance to the Cabinet Office on Whitehall during march. The march was organised to go from Park Lane to Parliament Square
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EU supporters, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal or reverse Brexit entirely, descend on the capital to protest
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An anti-Brexit protester carries his child on his back during today’s protest, while she holds up a sign saying ‘May I have my future back please’
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One protester holds a placard which says ‘IKEA has better cabinets’ and another reads ‘too young to vote… not too young to remember’
‘Brexit is a complete and utter mess,’ Khan said on the eve of the event.
‘I’ll be marching on Saturday with people from every part of our country – from every walk of life – to demand that the British people get the final say.’
Labour’s Jess Phillips also attended the march with her son.
Following the event, the Birmingham Yardley MP tweeted: ‘I was worried about taking my kid to #PutItToThePeople I have to consider his safety and our security but there was not even the tiniest sign of trouble.
‘The nicest march I ever attended.’
Earlier, former Ukip leader Nigel Farage joined the counter March to Leave in Linby, Nottinghamshire, telling around 200 Brexit supporters that Theresa May had reduced the nation ‘to a state of humiliation’.