Sir Patrick Stewart, the veteran actor, said some of his best known characters would have voted Remain as he joined a campaign to demand another referendum on the final Brexit deal.

Introducing a fictional note to a rally in Camden, north London, he told a crowd of more than 1200 people that Charles Xavier, his X-Men character, would have supported staying in the European Union.

He said: "It is not Charles Xavier standing here in front of you - although I can assure you that if he was, he would have voted Remain. And why? Because unity, common cause, wellbeing of society and debate were paramount to belief of this fictional character.

"Since the 2016 referendum, there has been a concerted effort by many - including government - to shut down debate about Brexit and to tell us that we should simply trust ministers to get on with it because Brexit is an irreversible process.

"That we shouldn't worry about the cost and complexity of it or the litany of broken promises. Well today we say that's not good enough.