Led By Donkeys group reminds minister of his statement that no one voted for no-deal Brexit

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A portrait of Michael Gove so large it can “be seen from space” has been drawn on the sand on the North Yorkshire coast to condemn his stance on Brexit.

The anti-Brexit campaign group Led By Donkeys travelled to Redcar to install the drawing measuring 7,500 sq metres, which features a quote from the cabinet minister in which he said the UK “didn’t vote to leave without a deal” in the 2016 EU referendum.

Since writing that in March in a Daily Mail article, the minister, who is in charge of no-deal planning, has backed Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue parliament.

Play Video 1:24 How Tory MPs used to talk about prorogation and what they say now – video

Led By Donkeys wrote on Twitter: “Hey, Vote Leave leader Michael Gove, remember in March you admitted there’s no mandate for No Deal cos nobody voted for it in the 2016 referendum? We thought we’d remind the country via a 7,500 sq/m sand installation on Redcar beach that can be seen from space. You’re welcome.”

The group said it installed the giant sand drawing in north-east England because it believed the region would be one that would suffer the most from a no-deal Brexit.

“The government is claiming the 2016 referendum gives it a mandate to crash us out of the EU without a deal, but that’s nonsense,” said Will Rose of Led By Donkeys.

“Gove is right – nobody ever voted for a no-deal Brexit. Now the government is suspending parliament so even MPs will find it hard to have a say.

“We decided to do this sand installation in Redcar because the north-east will be hit hard by a no-deal Brexit. Nobody voted to lose jobs and investment.”

On Sunday morning, Gove refused on BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show to confirm that the government would abide by legislation blocking a no-deal Brexit if it was forced through by Tory rebels and the opposition when the Commons sits this week.

What Vote Leave leaders really said about no-deal Brexit Read more

Led By Donkeys was formed in December 2018 by four remain supporters who initially wanted to bring the pronouncements of key Brexiters to a wider audience by turning them into Twitter posts that were pasted on to advertising hoardings.

One of their early efforts was of Johnson saying in July 2017: “There is no plan for no deal because we’re going to get a great deal.”

The men, who are current or former members of Greenpeace, also followed Nigel Farage’s protest march on London in two vans displaying digital ads and produced an enormous banner that was unfurled at the anti-Brexit rally in March.

They take their name from the phrase used to describe British soldiers during the first world war: “Lions led by donkeys.”