Revoke Article 50 petition: Government rejects plea by 5.8 million people to cancel Brexit

'We will honour the result of the 2016 referendum and work with Parliament to deliver a deal that ensures we leave the EU'

The government has rejected a petition with more than 5.78 million signatures calling for Brexit to be halted by revoking Article 50.

In an official response posted on the parliamentary petitions website, the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) said: “This government will not revoke Article 50.

“We will honour the result of the 2016 referendum and work with parliament to deliver a deal that ensures we leave the European Union.”

It comes after the Commons Petitions Committee said the petition would be debated by MPs on 1 April.

The committee said it was “the most signed petition ever received on the House of Commons and Government petitions site”.

In its official response, DExEU said: “The government acknowledges the considerable number of people who have signed this petition. However, close to three-quarters of the electorate took part in the 2016 referendum, trusting that the result would be respected.

“This government wrote to every household prior to the referendum, promising that the outcome of the referendum would be implemented.

“17.4 million people then voted to leave the European Union, providing the biggest democratic mandate for any course of action ever directed at UK government.

“British people cast their votes once again in the 2017 general election, where over 80 per cent of those who voted, voted for parties – including the opposition – who committed in their manifestos to upholding the result of the referendum.

“This government stands by this commitment.”

It added: “Revoking Article 50 would break the promises made by government to the British people, disrespect the clear instruction from a democratic vote, and in turn, reduce confidence in our democracy.

“As the prime minister has said, failing to deliver Brexit would cause ‘potentially irreparable damage to public trust’, and it is imperative that people can trust their government to respect their votes and deliver the best outcome for them.”

The petition will be debated by MPs in the Commons’s secondary chamber Westminster Hall. A government minister will be required to respond to the petition, but there will be no vote on the action it demands.

MPs will also debate a petition calling for a second EU referendum, which has received more than 120,000 signatures, and another signed by more than 140,000 demanding the UK leave with or without a deal on 29 March.

It comes as MPs put forward a motion for the indicative votes debate which would require parliament, if it has not secured a deal, to hold a vote on a no-deal Brexit two sitting days before the scheduled date of departure.

If MPs refuse to authorise no-deal, the prime minister would then be required to halt Brexit by revoking Article 50.