Brexit: MPs to debate calls for second EU referendum after petition attracts four million signatures

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Demands for a second EU referendum will be debated in Parliament today after a petition appealing for a second poll attracted more than four million signatures.

MPs will debate calls for the referendum to be re-run on the grounds that neither side of the vote won more than 60 per cent and the turnout was below 75 per cent.

Despite an official Government response to the campaign claiming there was no "threshold for the result or for minimum turnout", the Petitions Committee decided to hold the debate due to the "huge" number of signatories.

But the Committee has said this does not mean it supports the petition, stating: "The Petitions Committee would like to make clear that, in scheduling this debate, they are not supporting the call for a second referendum."

The debate, which will take place in the House of Commons at 2:30pm today (5 September) led by SNP MP Ian Blackford, will allow MPs to put forward a range of views on behalf of their constituents. At the end, a Government Minister will respond to the points raised.

The MPs will not have the power to decide if a second referendum will take place.

Labour MP David Lammy, who believes Parliament should have a say on whether Brexit is implemented, is to give a speech during the debate.

He told The Independent: “We’re two and a half months down the line from the EU referendum now and we’re no closer to knowing what Brexit actually means in reality.

“I’m absolutely clear that Parliament must vote on the Brexit deal that the Government are able to negotiate, whenever that may be. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Parliament should vote to stop Brexit or prevent the invoking of Article 50, although that is how I would personally vote.

“What it actually means is that in our democracy, a decision of this importance cannot be made without Parliament voting to approve it."

The debate was previously postponed due to the discovery that 77,000 signatures had been “fraudulently” added to the petition. Those names have since been removed.

The petition was originally set up by a Brexit campaigner, William Oliver Healey, who later disowned it, claiming it was “hijacked” by remain voters.

The debate comes days after mass demonstrations took place across the UK in protest against Brexit, with crowds gathering in London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Oxford and Cambridge in support of a closer relationship between Britain and the continent.

According to an opinion poll conducted on behalf of The Independent, four out of 10 people would like to see a second referendum before Britain leaves the EU.