Photos: Tens of Thousands March Through The Streets of London for This Reason
20 تشرين الأول 2018 16:40
Thousands of anti-Brexit campaigners have gathered to march in central London calling for a second referendum dubbed 'The People's Vote March'.
The march set off from Park Lane at midday and will end in a rally in Parliament Square, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and celebrity chef Delia Smith are among those due to speak at the event.
Organisers expect the protest to be the biggest of its kind, with about 150 buses ferrying thousands of activists from across the country to the capital.
Campaigners arrived dressed in royal blue clothing emblazoned with gold stars, brandishing signs which read 'bin Brexit now' and 'I want a say on Brexit'.
The protesters were joined by other famous faces including comedian Eddie Izzard, who came dressed in a navy suit waving British and EU flags.
Britons voted to leave the trade bloc by a narrow margin in the 2016 EU membership referendum and Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out another public vote on the subject.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, but negotiations have been plagued by disagreements, particularly over the issue of the Republic of Ireland-Northern Ireland border, which will be the UK's only land frontier with the EU after Brexit.
There are growing fears of a 'no-deal' exit, which could create chaos at the borders and in the economy.
Prime Minister Theresa May said at an inconclusive EU summit in Brussels this week that she would consider a longer post-Brexit transition period - one that could keep Britain aligned to EU rules and obligations for more than two years after its March departure.
Pro-Brexit politicians in Britain saw it as an attempt to bind the country to the bloc indefinitely.
'This week's fresh chaos and confusion over Brexit negotiations has exposed how even the best deal now available will be a bad one for Britain,' said Andrew Adonis, a Labour member of the House of Lords.
'Voters will neither forgive nor forget if (lawmakers) allow this miserable Brexit to proceed without people being given the final say.'
Simon Chater is part of the Devon for Europe group, which arranged eight coaches to bring campaigners to London for the event.
The 69-year-old from South Devon said: 'This is the first time in my life I've been political.'
He said 400 people had travelled in coaches arranged by the group, with some leaving Devon at 6am.
Campaigners have begun the march to Parliament Square, led by a group of young voters calling for a second referendum.
Emma Stevens and Emily Longman are two of the students leading the march behind a People's Vote banner.
Miss Longman, 20, said she was four months too young to vote in the referendum.
She said: 'We're both Spanish students due to study abroad next year, but no one knows what will happen with Erasmus funding.'
Miss Stevens, also 20, said: 'We don't want the other European countries to hold the same view [of leaving the EU].'