MP ‘Frightened To Speak’ As Pro And Anti-Brexit Protesters Clash On Parliament Square

An MP has said she was too frightened to speak at a rally in Parliament Square as two groups of pro and anti-Brexit protesters clashed.

Anna Soubry, who is against Britain leaving the EU, had been scheduled to speak at the March for Change demonstration in London on Saturday.

However shortly before the event, Soubry told organisers she was too frightened to speak due to intimidation from counter-protests held by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA).

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s awful but there’s also a side of me that thinks that this is our country,” the MP – and leader of the Independent Group for Change – told the PA news agency. 

“I’m a parliamentarian and I have a right to speak and I shouldn’t be frightened but it’s very, very, very disturbing, and I’m very frightened actually.”

After consulting with the police and protest organisers, the MP left the rally, telling officers she did not want to cause additional issues for them as they monitored both events.

Other speakers still scheduled to speak at the event include Green Party co-leader Sian Berry and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.

Around 200 people came out in support of the DFLA’s pro-Brexit demonstration.

When members of the anti-Brexit group March for Change began to set up for a rally of their own, some members of the DFLA approached and began shouting.

A beer can was thrown towards about ten people from the March for Change protest, before police on horseback intervened.

Police knew about both protests prior to Saturday.