LONDON: Hundreds of thousands of supporters of the European Union marched through London on Saturday in the biggest demonstration so far to demand that the British government holds a public vote on the terms of Brexit.
The protesters waved the blue and gold flag of the EU and held up banners under sunny skies to call for another referendum on the eventual deal on how Britain will leave the world's biggest trading bloc.
The march comes after another tumultuous week for Prime Minister Theresa May in which she failed to agree a divorce deal with EU leaders in Brussels and infuriated members of her own party by making further concessions in the talks.
With just over five months until Britain is due to leave there is no clarity about what a future trade deal with the EU will look like and some rebels in May's Conservative Party have threatened to vote down a deal if she clinches one.
James McGrory, one of the organisers of the march, said voters should have the chance to change their minds because the decision will impact their lives for generations.
"People think the Brexit negotiations are a total mess, they have no faith in the government to deliver the promises that were made, partly because they cannot be delivered," he said.
At the march, demonstrators carried placards saying "Time for an EU turn" and "European and proud."
Organisers said about 670,000 people took part in the march, which would make it the largest in Britain since a demonstration against the Iraq war in 2003.
The "People's Vote" campaign, which includes several pro-EU groups, said they had stewards stationed at regular intervals to estimate the size of the crowd. The police did not provide an independent estimate of numbers participating.
Protesters originally gathered near Hyde Park and then walked past Downing Street and finished outside parliament where they listened to politicians from all main political parties.
Hundreds of thousands take to streets in London demanding second Brexit vote
Hundreds of thousands take to streets in London demanding second Brexit vote
- Anti-Brexit protesters are gathering in central London for a demonstration calling for a second referendum on Britain’s exit from the EU.
- Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, but negotiations have been plagued by disagreements.
Colorado funeral home owner who abused nearly 200 corpses gets 40 years
- Hallford’s attorney unsuccessfully sought a 30 year sentence, arguing that it was not a crime of violence
COLORADO SPRINGS: A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed 189 decomposing bodies in a building over four years and gave grieving families fake ashes was sentenced to 40 years in state prison on Friday.
During the sentencing hearing, family members told Judge Eric Bentley they have had recurring nightmares about decomposing flesh and maggots since learning what happened to their loved ones.
They called defendant Jon Hallford a “monster” and urged the judge to give him the maximum sentence of 50 years.
Bentley told Hallford he caused “unspeakable and incomprehensible” harm. “It is my personal belief that every one of us, every human being, is basically good at the core, but we live in a world that tests that belief every day, and Mr. Hallford your crimes are testing that belief,” Bentley said.
Hallford apologized before his sentencing and said he would regret his actions for the rest of his life. “I had so many chances to put a stop to everything and walk away, but I did not,” he said. “My mistakes will echo for a generation. Everything I did was wrong.”
Hallford’s attorney unsuccessfully sought a 30 year sentence, arguing that it was not a crime of violence and he had no prior criminal record.
His former wife, Carie Hallford, who co-owned the Return to Nature Funeral Home, is due to be sentenced April 24. She faces 25 to 35 years in prison.
Both pleaded guilty in December to nearly 200 counts of corpse abuse under an agreement with prosecutors.
During the years they were stashing bodies, the Hallfords spent lavishly. That included purchasing a GMC Yukon and an Infiniti worth over $120,000 combined, along with $31,000 in cryptocurrency, pricey goods from stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co. and laser body sculpting.
