Brexit has divided the country like never before, says David Dimbleby
David Dimbleby. Photograph: Matt Crossick/PA. - Credit: PA Archive/PA Images
Broadcasting veteran David Dimbleby says he has never seen the country 'so divided' as it is over Brexit.
Members of the media and protesters outside the Supreme Court in London. Picture: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire
Dimbleby, who has hosted the BBC's coverage of every general election since 1979, spoke to protesters outside the Supreme Court as justices were asked to rule that Boris Johnson's decision to prorogue parliament for five weeks was unlawful.
Dimbleby said: "I lived through Suez, the miners' strike, I lived through the poll tax debate and the trouble then. I lived through the Iraq demonstrations - I've never seen the country so divided as this.
"The next six weeks are clearly critical. I've never known the country so seriously riven by argument."
He said the court case was "not just dramatic - it's really, really important for all our futures".
Protesters hold banners outside the Supreme Court in London, Tuesday Sept. 17, 2019. The Supreme Court is set to decide whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke the law when he suspended Parliament on Sept. 9, sending lawmakers home until Oct. 14 Ñ just over two weeks before the U.K. is due to leave the European Union. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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"The prime minister is accused of lying to the Queen - let's put it bluntly - and getting parliament suspended without good reason, and that's big potatoes, it has to be," he continued.
People were lined on the streets outside the court in the heart of Westminster, holding signs saying "defend democracy", "reopen parliament" and "they misled the Queen".
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They included someone dressed as the Incredible Hulk who was seen being "arrested" by another in a Robocop costume, just as proceedings began.
The man beneath the Robocop costume, Charlie Rome, 35, said: "Robocop, he stood for the rule of law in a kind of dystopian future where there was corruption rife across the police and the corporations.
"I think it's quite fitting at this quite worrying juncture in our parliamentary democracy."
Referring to his outfit, Rome added: "The irony of being in a tin foil hat is not lost on me!"
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