'One million people' march in London to demand second EU referendum
People's Vote campaigners hail the march as one of the biggest protests in UK history as they call for a final say over Brexit.
Sunday 24 March 2019 05:13, UK
More than a million people have marched through London to demand a second EU referendum, organisers have said.
Demonstrators flooded the streets of the capital to call for a final say over Brexit as a host of politicians addressed a packed rally outside parliament.
The People's Vote campaign, which organised the march, said the event had "broken the one million people mark" and hailed it as "one of the biggest protests in British history".
Among the speakers in Parliament Square was Labour's deputy leader, Tom Watson, who accused Theresa May of "plunging the country into chaos" and urged her to "let the people take control".
The prime minister has written to MPs to warn she could seek an extension to Britain's EU membership beyond the European Parliament elections at the end of May if there is insufficient support for her withdrawal agreement in the coming days.
"The way to break the stalemate is for parliament and the people to come together, to decide on our future together," Mr Watson said.
"Prime minister, you have lost control. You're plunging this country into chaos. Let the people take control."
Other speakers at the rally included Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Tory peer Lord Heseltine, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and MPs from the newly formed Independent Group.
Some of those watching the speakers chanted "Where's Jeremy Corbyn?" after the Labour leader missed the event as he spent the day campaigning in Morecambe, Lancashire.
The London march began at Hyde Park Corner before passing Trafalgar Square and Whitehall and ending in Parliament Square, where the area filled up before some marchers had even set off.
Many of the protesters flew large EU flags and carried placards with messages urging the government to "revoke article 50" and calling for Brexit to be put to the people.
If organisers are correct, the size of the march would surpass the estimated 700,000 people who attended a demonstration in London last October to call for a people's vote.
The latest London march coincided with former UKIP leader Nigel Farage re-joining the pro-Brexit March to Leave as it set off from Linby, near Nottingham, on Saturday.
Mr Farage confirmed the Brexit campaigners are due to arrive in London on 29 March - the day the UK was originally due to leave the EU - telling Sky News they are unhappy because they are "on the verge of being betrayed".
"We'll be there in Parliament Square on that day to say: 'If you think you can walk all over us, you've got another thing coming,'" he added.
The People's Vote march came on the same day the number of signatures added to an online petition calling for Article 50 to be revoked, and the UK to remain in the EU, surpassed four million.
Margaret Georgiadou, 77, who set up the petition, later revealed she has received death threats and her Facebook account has been hacked.