A FORMER Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Barbara Boyce, has taken part in a demonstration outside Parliament prior to tonight's Brexit votes.

Cllr Boyce was supported by York Central MP Rachael Maskell and former York MP Sir Hugh Bayley as the demo called for MPs to back amendments for any proposed Brexit deal to be put back to the people, with an option to Remain.

She said: “Brexit is the single most important decision that will happen to our country in decades, I will not sit back and watch our country destroy itself and take our rights away.

"I know from talking to people on street stalls across the region that the mood of the public has changed.

"Increasingly people are realising that we were misled by the Leave campaign over what Brexit would actually mean, in particular the negative consequences for the country.

"Any deal would fall short of the deal we have at the moment with our EU partners. In the circumstances it is entirely reasonable for MPs to go back to the public and say, would you like to proceed with the deal Theresa May proposes – or would you prefer to keep the deal we’ve already got with the EU?”

Ms Maskell said: “Cllr Barbara Boyce, as the former Lord Mayor of York and Sir Hugh Bayley, as the former MP for York Central, understand the needs of York businesses and people from the oversight that their roles provided.

"They have been motivated to campaign in Westminster today as they want local people’s voices represented in the midst of this national crisis. I was pleased to welcome Barbara and Hugh to Parliament before speaking in the debate on Brexit.”