Fears of violence as EU agrees to Brexit extension

Thousands of troops and a bombproof military bunker are being readied, as the UK enters a new level of Brexit chaos

Thousands of troops are being readied and legions of London’s famous black cabs lining up outside the Houses of Parliament to ferry politicians home safely, as it’s feared the UK’s Brexit chaos will reach a bleak new level of violence.

The fears have been amplified overnight as the European Union agreed to allow a Brexit extension until May 22, according to a leaked draft statement from an EU council meeting in Brussels.

Defence chiefs say 3500 troops are being readied and the Ministry of Defence has set up a bombproof operations room in a Westminster bunker to co-ordinate them in case the UK leaves the EU with no-deal.

It comes as more than one million people signed an online petition within 24 hours begging the British government to stop Brexit and a leaked email shows the extreme measures politicians are going to keep themselves safe.

I’ve thought long and hard before saying this, but @theresa_may knows that MPs across the House are subjected to death threats - some very credible. Her speech was incendiary and irresponsible. If any harm comes to any of us, she will have to accept her share of responsibility.

— Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) 20 March 2019

The email — first reported by PoliticsHome — was sent to politicians by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Theresa May said she was seeking a three-month delay to Britain’s departure from the European Union.

“Personally, I have never felt this level of tension during my time in the House and I am aware that other colleagues feel the same,” Mr Hoyle wrote. “Many colleagues have already been subject to widely publicised abuse and intimidation.”

Mr Hoyle warns politicians to “take simple steps to improve our personal safety by travelling home from the House by taxi or with colleagues in the coming days.”

He warned that “tensions and emotions are running at an all-time high” which could lead to violence in the coming days.

After the thugs chanted Nazi at Anna Soubry while she was on BBC, I went to check on her. But she had company... pic.twitter.com/II7nIdqMoF

— Femi (@Femi_Sorry) 7 January 2019

POLITICIANS SUBJECT TO DEATH THREATS

An independent British politician who wants the UK to stay in the EU says she cannot return to her home this weekend because of credible death threats against her.

Anna Soubry said she is facing “very, very serious death threats” and had been advised by a senior police officer that she should be concerned for her safety.

She says Thursday that “I’m not able to go home this weekend, I am not safe.”

Members of the public abused the former Conservative MP in January calling her a “liar,” “traitor,” and a “Nazi.”

Both pro- and anti-Brexit campaigners have gathered outside the UK parliament for more than two years to chant slogans and wave flags, but it has become fraught with tension in recent days.

Sky News reports that an increasingly vocal pro-Brexit group has joined the throng, harassing politicians and journalists while hurling insults.

Demonstrators carry EU flags and shout slogans outside the Houses of Parliament in central London on March 21, 2019. Picture: AFP

It is now commonplace for politicians to be surrounded and jostled by protesters as they walk to parliament or as they attempt to do media interviews.

Despite the recent flare-up, fears of violence and death threats against politicians have been an ongoing problem since the EU referendum.

In 2016, days before the crucial vote, Labour MP and Remain campaigner Jo Cox was killed in a street attack in Leeds, northern England.

‘STOP BREXIT’ GAINING MOMENTUM

There was so much traffic on the website of the petition to “stop Brexit”, launched on Wednesday, that it crashed and was briefly offline overnight.

“The government repeatedly claims exiting the EU is ‘the will of the people’. We need to put a stop to this claim by proving the strength of public support now, for remaining in the EU,” the petition read.

Theresa May speaks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, right, and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, left, at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2019.

A House of Commons spokesman said the technical difficulties on parliament’s e-petition website were caused by “a large and sustained load on the system”.

“The rate of signing is the highest the site has ever had to deal with and we have had to make some changes to ensure the site remains stable and open for signatures and new petitions,” the Petitions Committee tweeted on Thursday.

The petition was started by Margaret Anne Georgiadou, who told the BBC: “It’s almost like a dam bursting.

“It’s now or never for a lot of people,” she said.

— with wires