Thousands of pro-Brexit protesters shut down Westminster on what should have been our independence day
There have been five arrests this evening as protesters gathered outside Parliament, Downing Street and in Trafalgar Square
THOUSANDS of pro-Brexit protesters have shut down Westminster this afternoon as they celebrated what should have been our independence day.
There have been five arrests this evening as protesters gathered outside Parliament, Downing Street and in Trafalgar Square.
Earlier, today Parliament Square was jam-packed with passionate activists rallying for Brexit – who were furious that our official exit day has been scrapped.
Aerial views showed the crowds filling up every space available in front of the Houses of Parliament and along Whitehall, with traffic diverted elsewhere.
Fuming Brexiteers marched through central London, sang Land of Hope and Glory, cheered and waved their flags.
They joyously cheered as Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin, Nigel Farage and Brexit-backing MPs took to the stage to speak to them.
Piling the pressure on MPs as they voted down the PM’s deal yet again, they sent a firm reminder of what the 17.4million Brits who opted to break free of the EU still want to see delivered.
Ex-Ukip boss Mr Farage, who has vowed to return to frontline politics to make sure we get Brexit, led the Leave Means Leave rally the last part of their walk from Sunderland in support of Brexit.
He raged today: “We should be leaving with No Deal.
“I have to say honestly I’d rather have an extension to Article 50 than have this appalling treaty that Mrs May signed up to.
“I think it’s the end of the road, not just for this new European treaty which is what it is but for her as well.”
And an impassioned Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin also spoke to loyal backers of Brexit and told them to stand firm for a little while longer and Brexit will be delivered.
We should be leaving with No Deal
Nigel Farage
He said that Britain has been waiting to leave the EU and assured the crowds: “I suppose it’s been going for 30 or 40 years, so we can wait a few more days”.
The pub boss said: “I’d like to see us leave on April 12, I think we can save £39 billion, we can regain control of fishing which a lot of people seem to have forgotten about.
“I think it will be really good for British business, we can take the £39 billion which is going to vanish to Brussels in a flash and we can invest it in the UK.
“Anything you can buy from Europe you can buy from the rest of the world.
“Replace French brandy with Aussie brandy. Replace champagne with English sparkling wine.
Les Curtis, 70, who joined the protest from south east London told the Press Association: “I still want ‘no deal’ because then there’s no argument – then if we have any problems we can only blame ourselves.”
His pal, 65-year-old Ray Finch from Essex added: “What we want is freedom and democracy.
“If MPs don’t do what they are told they should be sacked, the same as everyone else in the country.”
They gathered just hours after Theresa May’s Brexit deal was defeated for the third time earlier today.
Her agreement – even without the political declaration in it – was slapped down by 58 votes.
The pound plummeted at the news and the EU said they were now thought that No Deal was likely.
But Theresa May hinted that another election could be on the cards.
EU bosses called an emergency summit, but Eurocrat Martin Selmayr said we can still revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit altogether.
Far-right hot head Tommy Robinson also addressed crowds today, but his voice broke and struggled to be heard.
He told those who had turned out: “Theresa May, are you listening?”
Two people were arrested at the protest — one man who was wanted for an offence in Hertfordshire and another man on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
MPs are deadlocked on what to do now about Brexit.
They’ve rejected leaving without a deal, rejected Theresa May’s deal, and rejected every other Brexit option that’s been put on the table.
A second referendum and a customs union were the most popular choices, but neither of them had the backing of more than half of MPs in the Commons.
On Monday the Remainer rebels will again try and force through the choices to try and figure out whether there’s a majority for one of them.
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