Hundreds of thousands of protesters descended on central London to demand a final say on the terms of the Brexit deal in one of the largest protests against leaving the European Union.

Organisers estimated a crowd of at least 670,000, a much larger turnout than the protests against Donald Trump and the 2011 anti-cuts march.

The People’s Vote march was due to set off at 12pm, but the crowd that gathered at Park Lane only began moving in earnest after 2pm because of the sheer number of people.

The sun was shining brightly while demonstrators blew whistles, shouted and danced their way towards Parliament Square.

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Earlier in the morning, a group of about 400 made up of British expatriates living in Europe, some of whom had travelled from Italy and France, and European Union citizens residing in the UK gathered in Hyde Park to call for the right to vote in a final referendum. The group united under the umbrella group the Five Million, which refers to the number of EU citizens in Britain and UK citizens residing in the EU.

Kalba Meadows, a coordinator of Remain in France Together and a member of British in Europe’s steering committee, travelled from the French Pyrenees to join the march. “I am here for two reasons: I’m here to show how strong we are as a group and celebrate everything we’ve done together over the last two years,” she said.



“I am here because we’ve been disenfranchised from the referendum. I am here to demand that the people most affected by Brexit actually have a say in what happens.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Axel Antoni: ‘We want a final say for all.’ Photograph: Aamna Mohdin for the Guardian

Axel Antoni, 44, a spokesperson for campaign group the3million, said: “It’s a very specific demand: we want a final say for all. The UK is our home. We are part of it. EU citizens didn’t even have a vote last time, we didn’t have a voice last time.”

Elena Remigi, founder of the In Limbo project, spoke of the “turmoil” EU citizens in Britain and Brits residing in the EU have been in since the Brexit vote. “We have been used as bargaining chips and now we risk becoming collateral damage,” Remigi said.

Protestors arrived on packed buses from all parts of the country. Louise Penn, who travelled from Norfolk, was pleased that so many people had turned up. “We brought London to a standstill and that’s a message in of itself,” she said. “I’m doing this partly for myself, but for my children and their children. This is for the future of the country.”

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Peter De Clercq, 39, came on the same bus as Penn. He said that at the last people’s vote march there had only been one bus from Norfolk, but this morning there were six buses full of protesters heading to London. De Clercq, who is originally from Belgium, said that after living in the UK for 18 years he felt he was suddenly being stripped of his rights. “I can’t vote. I didn’t have a vote before and we all deserve the vote,” he said. “I’m doing this for every European citizen, including the British.”

Peter Andrews, who was among the 500 people to have travelled to London with the group Bath for Europe, said: “I believe leaving Europe is the stupidest idea I have ever come across. It will ruin my children’s future and it will ruin my future.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Peter Andrews with Jacob Rees-Mogg banknote. Photograph: Aamna Mohdin for the Guardian

Andrews, who was handing out fake bank notes with Jacob Rees-Mogg’s face on, added that “Britain is being led by extreme right wing fanatics”. The group issued several notes, including a £350m note. Rees-Mogg’s face had been chosen to be plastered on a 50 guinea note because he was trying “to take us back in time,” Andrews said.

At the head of the march, among a group of young people with a People’s Vote banner, Robyn Heston, 20, spoke of her frustration of missing out on voting in the referendum by just five days. She said: “I believe our generation didn’t get a say. We didn’t get a chance and it’s our future.”

Though Brexit highlighted a deep chasm between the younger and older generation, protesters ranged from university students to grandparents. Diana Luck, from Muswell Hill, was carrying a sign reading “Very Angry Grandmother”. “I am very angry at the things that are happening like Brexit and Trump and very worried about the future for my children and grandchildren,” she said. “I think that’s true for all of us angry grannies.”

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Derick, 35, who lives in London, was waving an rainbow flag and marching with an LGBT group. He said: “It’s pretty terrifying and I’m transgender and basically most of my rights as a person has come from the EU. If we leave the EU, I am liable to not become a person.”

Matthew Cooke, 28, who had come down from Scunthorpe with the Modern Union for a Changing World, described the prospect of a no-deal Brexit as “terrifying”.

Play Video 0:42 Hundreds of thousands attend People's Vote march in London – video

“Brexit in its guise is no good for jobs, no good for workers’ rights and no good for people’s finances,” he said. “It would be remiss not to be out here to not get a better future for everybody.” Cooke, who has worked as both a steelworker and a trade unionist, said it was the duty of the union to fight to get better deals for their workers.

Addressing the crowd in Parliament Square earlier, the Liberal Democrats leader, Vince Cable, said it was “a tragedy this country is being divided by generation”.

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He said it was the majority of his generation that voted to leave, taking the freedom away from young voters. “There is no deal better than the one we have now. It is better for Britain and better for Europe,” he said.

The Labour MP Chuka Umunna criticised Brexiters who “have tried to smear us as some liberal metropolitan elite, when nothing could be further from the truth”.

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London mayor Sadiq Khan, Conservative MP Anna Soubry and Green party MP Caroline Lucas were among other politicians to address the crowd at Parliament Square. Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader, spoke to the crowd via video link. She reaffirmed her party’s support for a people’s vote, which includes the option to remain in the EU.

She said: “The Leave campaign has already gone down in history as one of the most disingenuous, dishonourable, and downright dishonest electoral contests of modern times. Those responsible should be utterly ashamed of themselves.”

The crowds began to disperse from 4pm. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan police said they were not aware of any disorder nor were there any significant arrests.