Protesters chant 'traitor' at Jacob Rees Mogg and his 12-year-old son

Jimmy Nsubuga
Updated
A heavy police presence escorts Leader of Britain's House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg from parliament in London, following a Brexit debate Saturday Oct. 19, 2019. Many thousands of protesters gathered in London to demonstrate on both sides of the Brexit argument. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
A heavy police presence escorts Leader of Britain's House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg from parliament in London (Picture: PA)

Protesters hurled insults at MPs on a dramatic day in Parliament in which Brexit took yet another dramatic turn.

At a special Saturday sitting in the House of Commons, MPs voted by 322 to 306 to withhold approval of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal until legislation to implement it is in place.

In practice, this means Mr Johnson will be forced by law to request an extension from the EU that would delay Brexit until January next year.

The Prime Minister has insisted he won’t do this ahead of the deadline of 11pm on Saturday night, though it is not clear how he plans to circumvent the law.

Read the latest Brexit updates from Super Saturday here

As MPs left the House of Commons and travelled home, some were subjected to shouts of abuse from protesters, many of whom had gathered for the ‘People’s Vote’ march.

One of the most high-profile MPs to be targeted was Jacob Rees-Mogg as he walked home from the House of Commons with his 12-year-old son.

The Leader of the House, who was escorted by police, was called a “traitor”, “Nazi” and “p****” in London’s Millbank.

Tory MPs Andrea Leadsom and Michael Gove and Labour MP Diane Abbott were also filmed being verbally abused in central London the key vote in Westminster.

Boos and shouts of “shame on you” were directed at Mrs Leadsom and Ms Abbott was told to "stop drinking - it affects the mind".

Mrs Leadsom thanked the police for their help on Twitter and blamed members of the People’s Vote for the abuse.

Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary Dawn Butler later responded to Mrs Leadsom on Twitter and said she was glad she and Mr Gove had got home safe.

Ms Butler added she was also targeted by pro-Brexit crowds and said she thought it was important “we encourage all sides to disagree respectfully and MPs watch our language and tone”.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in London on Saturday to call for a second vote on Brexit, as MPs approved an amendment which saw a vote on the Government’s deal pushed back to Monday.

Effigies of the Prime Minister were held aloft by protesters at the demonstration, with some accompanied by their pets draped in EU flags, on the People’s Vote march to Westminster.

A number of celebrities and politicians also joined the march, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan pictured alongside Sir Patrick Stewart and actor Stephen McGann at the front of the crowd in Park Lane on Saturday afternoon.

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Protesters then made their way through central London towards Parliament Square and all cheered when it was announced Sir Oliver Letwin’s amendment had passed.

Sir Oliver, one of the MPs to have the Tory whip withdrawn after rebelling on Brexit, said it was an “insurance policy” intended to ensure the UK cannot “crash out” of the EU on October 31 without a deal.