Yahoo News Revoke Article 50 petition hits 5 million signatures in wake of Brexit march
The online petition to revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit has hit five million signatures.
The petition is already the most popular to be submitted to the Parliament website after it overtook a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum.
Backed by dozens of high profile celebrities, it gained support in the wake of Theresa May's speech on Wednesday night, even crashing the Parliament website several times.
It comes after an estimated one million people took to the streets of London for the Put it to the People march on Saturday, calling for a people’s vote on Brexit.
The woman who started the petition also revealed yesterday she has received three death threats over the phone and “torrents of abuse” on social media.
Margaret Georgiadou, 77, started the anti-Brexit petition in February, but has now been left scared after being threatened.
The retired lecturer tweeted: “In the past 10 hours have had three death threats over the phone, my FB account has been hacked and had a torrent of abuse on Facebook. Am closing my FB account.
“Who wants Brexit so much that they are prepared to kill for it?”
IN the past 10 hours have had three death threats over the phone, my fb account has been hacked andhad a torrent of abuse on Facebook. Am closing my FB account.
— margaret georgiadou (@madgie1941)
Despite the petition, Theresa May has ruled out halting the Brexit process, saying last week: “I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.”
She told reporters in Brussels on Thursday: “If you look back to what happened in the referendum, we saw the biggest democratic exercise in our history.
“And there was a clear result that we should leave the European Union.
“We said here’s the vote, what is your decision, and we will deliver on it.
“And I believe it’s our duty as a Government and as a Parliament to deliver on that vote.”
Celebrities and MPs have tweeted their support for Parliament to revoke the Treaty of Lisbon clause that deals with leaving the EU.
Famous figures including actors Hugh Grant and Jennifer Saunders, TV presenter and author Caitlin Moran, physicist Brian Cox and former Labour press chief Alastair Campbell all urged their followers on social media to sign the petition.
Alongside the link, Grant wrote: "I've signed. And it looks like every sane person in the country is signing too. National emergency."
