Britons plead for a second EU referendum vote

More than a million Britons pleaded for a second referendum Saturday as Britain’s seismic vote to abandon the EU split the nation after pounding world markets, toppling the prime minister and raising the threat of a breakup of the island nation.

In a sign of the fissures exposed by the June 23 vote, 1.2 million people signed a petition on the official government website by late morning calling for a repeat vote -- more than 12 times the 100,000 signatures required for a proposal to be discussed in the lower house of parliament.

Unprecedented traffic forced the site to be taken out of action at one point, a parliamentary spokesman said.

A parliamentary committee, which can put forward petitions for debate by lawmakers, will consider the proposal Tuesday. “I am worried, really sick for my children’s prospects,” said Lindsey Brett, a 57-year-old secretarial worker.

“I was expecting a ‘Remain’ vote. I did not think we would come out,” she said in central London. Britons, many worried about immigration and financial insecurity, cast aside Prime Minister David Cameron’s warnings of isolation and economic disaster and voted 52 percent-48 percent in favour of “Brexit” in Thursday’s referendum.