The British government has rejected a petition calling for Brexit to be stopped, which gathered more than 5.8 million signatures.
The petition is due to be debated by MPs on 1 April, after breaking the 100,000 threshold for consideration
In an official response the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) said: “This government will not revoke Article 50.
“We will honour the result of the 2016 referendum and work with parliament to deliver a deal that ensures we leave the European Union.”
In its official response, DExEU said: “The government acknowledges the considerable number of people who have signed this petition. However, close to three-quarters of the electorate took part in the 2016 referendum, trusting that the result would be respected.
“This government wrote to every household prior to the referendum, promising that the outcome of the referendum would be implemented.
“17.4 million people then voted to leave the European Union, providing the biggest democratic mandate for any course of action ever directed at UK government.
“British people cast their votes once again in the 2017 general election, where over 80 per cent of those who voted, voted for parties – including the opposition – who committed in their manifestos to upholding the result of the referendum.
“This government stands by this commitment.”
The woman behind the petition, Margaret Georgiadou, said she had received death threats after her petition became the best-supported proposal in the history of the House of Commons and government’s e-petitions website.
We should sack hardline Brexiteers, not the lone woman trying to keep them in check
