'Half million' rally in London for new Brexit referendum
EU flag waving Britons rejecting a future outside Europe packed the heart of London on Saturday for an anti-Brexit protest organisers said drew more than half a million people.
The police gave no figures for how many showed up for the massive march and rally outside parliament aimed at pressing the government into holding a second Brexit vote.
But the 570,000 turnout figure reported by campaigners would make the demonstration the largest since 750,000 showed up against the war in Iraq in 2003 according to police figures. UK's Independent puts the number at 7,00,000.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called Saturday "an historic moment in our democracy" that united "every corner of our country and every section of our society".
The marchers came in buses and trains from across Britain and even other parts of the EU.
They chanted and whistled while marching in support for causes ranging from women's rights to Britain's beloved but underfunded NHS healthcare system.
Some wore blue French berets decorated with the golden stars of the EU flag. Others stuck up signs lampooning Prime Minister Theresa May's negotiating efforts.
"I think people were misled in various ways," small business owner Peter Hancock said .
"We want to stay European," added his wheelchair-bound wife Julie.
An online petition demanding a binding vote on any deal agreed before the March deadline had been signed almost 950,000 times by the time the march kicked off under sunny skies.
May has made it abundantly clear that she has no intention of allowing a Brexit do-over.
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