Brexit: Over 1,000 British Barristers Call On Parliament To Have Final Say

Over 1,000 British barristers have signed a letter claiming the Brexit referendum was not binding and called on parliament to have the final say on whether Britain leaves the EU, the Guardian has reported.

The letter, co-written by top U.K. barristers including 100 Queen's Counsels, argues the Leave vote was based on "misrepresentations of fact and promises that could not be delivered."

The barristers called for a parliamentary vote, which, they argue, "should take place with a greater understanding as to the economic consequences of Brexit, as businesses and investors in the U.K. start to react to the outcome of the referendum."

The letter states: "The referendum did not set a threshold necessary to leave the EU, commonly adopted in polls of national importance, eg, 60 percent of those voting or 40 percent of the electorate. This is presumably because the result was only advisory.

"The outcome of the exit process will affect a generation of people who were not old enough to vote in the referendum. The positions of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar require special consideration, since their populations did not vote to leave the EU.

"The parliamentary vote should take place with a greater understanding as to the economic consequences of Brexit, as businesses and investors in the UK start to react to the outcome of the referendum.

"For all of these reasons, it is proposed that the government establishes, as a matter of urgency, a royal commission or an equivalent independent body to receive evidence and report, within a short, fixed timescale, on the benefits, costs and risks of triggering article 50 to the UK as a whole, and to all of its constituent populations. The parliamentary vote should not take place until the commission has reported."