Brexit march descends on London as Gina Miller declares ‘now is not the time to be silent'
BREXIT activist Gina Miller addressed protestors saying it was time to take back control as a demonstration unveiled in central London on the second anniversary of the landmark referendum.
She said: “It’s time we took this back to the streets and the lanes, the towns and the villages and the meadows and the squares of this country. It is time for you to decide, for you to take back control.”
The crowds descended on the capital calling for a second referendum as they heard the activist tell call the Government dishonest.
She added: “It is simply dishonest for them in that house to say that they still believe that the will of the people is the same as it was two years ago.
“Together we must stand up, demand our voice are heard, demand a people’s vote so that future generations can hear us say we did our bit, we stood up and for a country that is together, kinder and tolerant. This is not a time to be silent.”
We go on this march with a simple message: Brexit is not inevitable
Earlier today the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson blasted Remoaners protesting today in London who are calling for a second referendum saying most Britons now want “to get on with it”.
Mr Johnson said citizens want the Government to fulfill the mandate and deliver Brexit regardless of what they voted two years ago.
Writing in The Sun he said: “Across the country I find people who - whatever they voted two years ago - just want us to get on and do it.
"They don't want a half-hearted Brexit. They don't want some sort of hopeless compromise, some perpetual push me-pull you arrangement in which we stay half-in and half-out in a political no man's land - with no more ministers round the table in Brussels and yet forced to obey EU laws.
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"They don't want some bog roll Brexit, soft, yielding and seemingly infinitely long. They want this Government to fulfil the mandate of the people and deliver a full British Brexit."
Brexit rebel MPs and activists including Gina Miller lead thousands of protesters calling for a second referendum, on the anniversary of the UK's vote to quit the EU.
The demonstration was dubbed the 'March for a People's Vote' and speakers at the event will included Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable, Tory rebel Anna Soubry, Labour MP David Lammy and Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas.
Mr Cable is expected to say: "Brexit is not a done deal. Brexit is not inevitable. Brexit can be stopped. Parliament is fiddling at the margins while the country slowly burns.
He is expected to spin that Brexit will "slowly and painfully" damage the country.
Mr Cable will add: "Theresa May admits there will be damage. Her policy is damage limitation. Better to stop the damage. To return the issue to the people, to vote on the deal (or no deal).
"With the option of staying in the EU and working to improve it rather than walk away.
The protest, ended at Parliament Square and is being supported by anti-Brexit groups including Open Britain, the successor to the failed Britain Stronger in Europe campaign.
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Organisers said it would the biggest pro-EU protest since the 2016 referendum, attracting tens of thousands of activists.
Actor Tony Robinson said he attended as he had a "deep and abiding love for my country".
In a speech on stage he went on: "It's an old-fashioned and embarrassing word but I am a patriot.
"I am deeply offended that that word has been hijacked by a few reactionary colonialists over there (gestures at Parliament) who peddle the fantasy of a UK that never existed except perhaps in the imaginations of their nannies and parlourmaids."
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Labour MP Chuka Umunna said ahead of the demonstration: "Momentum is building behind the campaign for a people's vote on the final Brexit deal.
"This Saturday will see tens of thousands from all over the UK marching for a people's vote in London and support is growing across the country.
"With the negotiations in chaos, with the Government making a total mess of Brexit and with Parliament paralysed, now is the time for people to take back control of the process."
The demonstration comes after the landmark EU Withdrawal Bill passed through Parliament, paving the way for Brexit.
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Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 next year, although the process of fully quitting the bloc could take several years.
The UK will remain in the EU's customs union for at least two years under Theresa May's proposed transition period.
This means Britain will keep paying into the EU budget and remain subject to EU rules and regulations for the duration of the transition.