A Petition For A Second EU Referendum Is So Popular The Government Website Has Crashed

A petition calling for a second EU referendum has proved so popular that the government website has crashed under the strain.

The petition, posted to petition.parliament.uk, says: “We the undersigned call upon HM Government to implement a rule that if the remain or leave vote is less than 60% based a turnout less than 75% there should be another referendum.”

Before the website crashed, it had more than 70,000 signatures of the 100,000 needed to force parliament to consider it for debate.

Britain has voted to Leave the EU referendum by 52 per cent to 48.

David Cameron is actually not be legally obliged to invoke the Lisbon treaty to start an EU exit, despite the EU referendum result.

However, the Prime Minister, who supported the Remain vote, announced his decision to step down in October, paving the way for a pro-Brexit Conservative leader to step in.

He said: “I will do everything I can as Prime Minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months but I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination.

“This is not a decision I’ve taken lightly but I do believe it’s in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required.

“There is no need for a precise timetable today but in my view we should aim to have a new prime minister in place by the start of the Conservative Party conference in October.”

Since Britain’s decision to Brexit was announced this morning, the pound has fallen sharply as the market reacts to the shock.

An estimated £200bn was wiped off the FTSE in the first 10 minutes of trading.