LONDON: Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday calling on the government to “rethink and reject Brexit.”
A stream of protesters poured through Trafalgar Square and stopped to boo outside Prime Minister Theresa May’s Downing Street office before congregating at a rally outside parliament.
The self-styled People’s March for Europe comes ahead of a key vote in the House of Commons on Monday night.
“Help! We’re trapped on a small island that’s been taken over by mad people!” read one sign held aloft above a sea of blue EU flags.
“Take back control from these clowns,” demanded a banner featuring photos of senior ministers, while another referenced the divorce negotiations, saying: “This best deal is the deal we’ve got!“
“There’s no good reason for leaving the EU — it’s all bad,” said Beverley Townsend, a 55-year-old from eastern England, holding up a sign calling for an “exit from Brexit.”
She and her husband Dave, both draped in EU flags, said they had been lifelong supporters of May’s Conservative party but switched to the pro-European Liberal Democrats.
“I don’t believe May listens to anyone, but we’ve got to do what we can to make the point that this will severely harm our country,” said Townsend.
Dr. John Wale, who works at Warwick University in central England, brought along his two sons aged 16 and 12, both of them holding up EU flags.
“It’s all so negative. Why would you throw away something that is so beneficial to appease the will of a few fanatics?” he said, adding: “The problem is there are more than a few.”
Louisa Paches, a 39-year-old Spaniard wearing a beret in the design with the EU flag, said she had lived in Britain for 13 years but was now thinking of leaving.
“I don’t feel welcome here,” she said, standing with her French partner and two young children, both of whom have British passports.
MPs will on Monday hold their first vote on a crucial piece of legislation intended to smooth Britain’s departure from the European Union.
The Repeal Bill would formally end Britain’s EU membership and transfer of around 12,000 existing EU laws and regulations onto the British statute books.
May’s government is expected to win the vote, but could face rebellions by pro-European members of her own Conservative party as MPs scrutinize the bill in the coming weeks.
May is also under pressure from Conservative Brexit supporters to ensure a clean break when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019, after ministers said they were seeking an implementation period to reduce any disruption.
Britons voted by 52 percent to 48 percent to end their membership of the bloc in a referendum in June 2016.
Thousands rally in London to protest Brexit plan
Thousands rally in London to protest Brexit plan
Russia says two crew members from US-seized tanker released
- “Two Russian sailors have been released and are on their way home to Russia,” Zakharova said
- Russia announced earlier this month that the US had decided to release the Russian duo
MOSCOW: Moscow said Wednesday two Russian crew members of a tanker seized this month by the United States in the Atlantic had been released and were on their way home.
US authorities took over the Russian-flagged vessel earlier this month, alleging it was part of a shadow fleet carrying oil from countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
The United States said publicly that the Marinera’s crew could be prosecuted. Russia said that would be “categorically unacceptable” and accused Washington of stoking tensions and threatening international shipping.
“Two Russian sailors have been released and are on their way home to Russia,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday.
Russia announced earlier this month that the United States had decided to release the two Russian crew members, but last week its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the decision had not yet been implemented.
The captain and the first officer of the tanker have left UK waters, Solicitor General for Scotland, Ruth Charteris told a court hearing Tuesday, Press Association news agency reported.
“The captain and the first officer are now aboard the US Coast Guard vessel Munro and have departed the United Kingdom’s territorial sea,” Charteris said.
Twenty-six of the 28 crew have left the ship, officials told AFP. They were processed at a military site in Inverness, Scotland, the court was told, according to Press Association.
Five wanted to travel to the United States and 21 elsewhere. None have claimed asylum, the court heard.
“At the request of the US authorities, crew members have been allowed to disembark for onwards travel,” a UK government spokesperson told AFP Wednesday.
“They will be processed in line with all appropriate immigration and legal requirements.”
Britain was not involved in the movement of the other two crew members, the government said.
The United States seized the tanker, previously known as Bella 1, which was being escorted by the Russian navy, after chasing it from near the Venezuelan coast.
It was re-flagged and re-named to bring it under Russian jurisdiction in a bid to discourage the United States from trying to take it as part of its campaign against Venezuela.
