“Let me tell you the facts, which are that the police currently are preparing for the possibility of civil unrest”
London mayor Sadiq Khan has suggested that the police are preparing for “civil unrest” after Britain leaves the European Union.
Speaking to BBC’s Andrew Marr earlier today, he said: “Let me tell you the facts, which are that the police currently are preparing for the possibility of civil unrest. That’s happening now, already.”
He added that he believes the effects of Britain’s impending withdrawal from the EU are already being felt in the capital, as “our NHS wards are understaffed” and we are experiencing the “highest vacancy rates in London for mental health nurses, for NHS nurses and for social care.”
Khan’s comments come on the same day as he called for a second vote on Brexit. Writing in the Observer, he said he believes that a People’s Vote is vital, as there is now only the possibility of a bad deal or a no-deal Brexit.
The mayor wrote: “They are both incredibly risky and I don’t believe Theresa May has the mandate to gamble so flagrantly with the British economy and people’s livelihoods.”
He added that he believes the government has failed to put national interest ahead of party politics and we are now “a million miles away from what was promised during the EU referendum campaign.”
Khan said: “The need for another public vote on Brexit was never inevitable, or something I ever thought I’d have to call for.
“But the reality is that the abject failure of the government – and the huge risk we now face of either a bad deal or a ‘no deal’ Brexit – means that giving people a fresh say on our future is now the right, and only, approach left for the good of our country.”
Research earlier this month suggested that over two and a half million people have changed their mind and no longer want to leave the European Union, meaning that in the event of a People’s Vote being held, the country would opt to stay inside the EU by a margin of around 300,000 votes
