Woman behind Brexit petition gets death threats as it passes 4 million
"Who wants Brexit so much that they are prepared to kill for it?" asks Margaret Georgiadou, 77, who started the petition.
Sunday 24 March 2019 05:15, UK
The woman who started a parliamentary petition to stop Brexit says she has received death threats over the phone.
The petition demanding Theresa May revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit has passed four million signatures as of Saturday afternoon.
It has had the highest rate of signatures on record - and at one point caused the official petitions website to crash.
However, Margaret Georgiadou, 77, who started the petition, has said that over Friday evening her Facebook account was hacked and she received three death threats over the phone.
Mrs Georgiadou, who is currently visiting Cyprus, said: "Who wants Brexit so much that they are prepared to kill for it?"
She wrote on Twitter that she couldn't attend the march in London on Saturday morning, but called on those who were marching to sing a version of You'll Never Walk Alone for her.
There was a surge in support for the petition following the prime minister's Downing Street speech on Wednesday.
Despite this, Mrs May has repeatedly refused to reverse Brexit - pledging to deliver on the result of the 2016 referendum that saw more than 17 million people, 52% of those who voted, back the UK's departure from the EU.
In Wednesday's speech, she pinned the blame on MPs for her move to seek a delay to Brexit from the end of this month to 30 June, telling voters: "I am on your side."
Shortly after this speech, "Revoke Article 50" began trending on Twitter.
Actors Hugh Grant and Jennifer Saunders promoted the petition on social media, as did physicist Brian Cox.
The PM was not granted her preferred extension date, instead being given a two-tier extension by EU leaders.
They softened the immediate threat of a no-deal divorce by offering a delay until 22 May if MPs pass Mrs May's deal by the end of next week.
But if parliament rejects it again in "meaningful vote three", the UK faces a new hard deadline on 12 April.
After it broke the two million mark it surpassed what was previously the second most popular - a petition opposing the prospect of a state visit from US President Donald Trump - at 1.9 million signatures.
The most popular pro-Brexit petition has 375,000 signatures. It calls on the government to leave without a deal at the end of this month.