EU supporters take to capital’s streets to demonstrate against Britain’s departure from the union
4.48pm GMT
We are wrapping up our live coverage of the Unite for Europe march today - thanks for reading.
4.44pm GMT
Nick Clegg wraps up the rally with a blistering speech that almost persuades Alistair Campbell to forget the coalition.
4.39pm GMT
There have also been anti-Brexit protests in Madrid today, as Guardian contributing editor Giles Tremlett tweets:
Brits gathering in Madrid, Spain protest to keep ALL RIGHTS postBrexit @RobertsDan @cajuk pic.twitter.com/WDxrDDFK0l
4.25pm GMT
Tottenham MP David Lammy tells the Guardian there is a way back into the EU for Britain. “In the end this is about the people. We’re hearing a lot of stuff about the will of the people and it’s complete spin,” he says.
4.15pm GMT
Writer and commentator Bonnie Greer tweets:
Thanked every cop I saw : #UniteForEurope
On the job-the @metpoliceuk #TheMet#MarchForEurope2017 pic-@Otto_Englishpic.twitter.com/SBaDoQsIyC
4.05pm GMT
Edward Farquharson, 54, says he attended the march to make his voice heard.
3.48pm GMT
Sid Mohandas, 33, teacher and researcher, attended the march with his husband Jayson Gillham, 30.
3.36pm GMT
Edinburgh protest
Good turnout at #MarchForEurope in #Edinburgh pic.twitter.com/iK5QUofiMD
3.20pm GMT
Fiamette Porri, 50, is from Italy, and met her husband Donald Thompson, 55, at a London nightclub 19 years ago this month.
3.13pm GMT
Alastair Campbell tells the Remain movement not to give up: “When you see a car heading toward a cliff, you don’t keep driving.
3.08pm GMT
More from Alastair Campbell:
"I know I am in a minority in thinking Brexit can be stopped, but I'm not in a minority in thinking that it should be," says @campbellclaret
2.39pm GMT
Tens of thousands of anti-Brexit demonstrators fell silent at Parliament Square in tribute to the victims of the Westminster attack.
2.32pm GMT
More from campaigning lawyer Jo Maugham, who says his recent legal action is about giving people a democratic voice.
“Starting article 50 is like a journey, a journey we can turn back from,” he tells the Unite For Europe rally.
2.21pm GMT
Barrister Jo Maugham is now addressing the crowd in Westminster.
Defiance from @JolyonMaugham “Anyone who says they know what the popular mood is is lying. What will make Brexit happen is if you give up.”
2.14pm GMT
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron cemented his growing role as the political leader of the Remain movement with a well-received address to the Unite For Europe march in Parliament Square.
2.10pm GMT
Farron to cheers: “We are not giving up this week of all weeks. We here are as testament that we refuse to despair. Britain can be better."
2.01pm GMT
Speakers have been taking to the stage in Parliament Square.
#uniteforeurope speaker Seb Dance MEP says: "It's not us who need to confront reality. It's the Brexiteers" says no mandate for hard brexit
Lib Dem's Tim Farron next at #uniteforeurope march says Theresa May makes Nigel Farage look like a moderate by choosing most extreme Brexit.
1.45pm GMT
The front of the #uniteforEurope demo has reached Parliament Square now and many of the marchers are placing yellow flowers at the memorial. pic.twitter.com/bD48yryHTy
1.37pm GMT
Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission’s president, has told French voters to remember the key role their country plays, together with the European Union, when they vote in next month’s presidential election in which the anti-EU candidate Marine Le Pen is a strong contender.
1.29pm GMT
Former BBC correspondent turned academic James Rodgers tweets:
On the corner of Piccadilly and St James'. #UniteForEurope demo has been passing for at least 45 mins and still thousands to come pic.twitter.com/igj2PTKPIl
1.22pm GMT
After dreadful events of Wednesday feels very good to be in Parliament Square as part of a democratic demonstration #UniteForEurope pic.twitter.com/0o8Hnf6uCR
1.19pm GMT
On its 60th birthday, people from Sweden to Bulgaria speak their mind about whether the project is worth pursuing.
Related: 'It was a nice idea, but …' Europeans on what went wrong with the EU
1.10pm GMT
Pertinent point from the Financial Times’ Jonathan Eley:
UKIP now has zero MPs. And to think Cameron called a referendum on a matter of huge importance to placate this shower.
1.06pm GMT
They call us #snowflakes because millions of us can create an avalanche. #MarchForEurope2017 #UniteForEurope pic.twitter.com/eA1WqFFxWn
1.01pm GMT
The Unite for Europe march isn’t just for people it seems...
Bess watching the #unitedforeurope march
12.53pm GMT
March for Europe in Warsaw#EU60 #PLinEU #loveEU #loveEurope pic.twitter.com/P4KayqkHjM
Meanwhile in Warsaw, thousands have taken to the streets waving EU and Polish flags in a show of support for the union as leaders in Rome to mark the 60th anniversary of its founding treaty.
12.40pm GMT
12.36pm GMT
Greek-born lecturer and longtime London resident Lakis Zervoulis (right) and friends on the march today.
12.26pm GMT
Some very British signs from today’s march...
#UniteForEurope a good little selection pic.twitter.com/O2LNzeWG27
12.23pm GMT
The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who initially signalled that he would not sign the Rome declaration if it failed to acknowledge that European achievements applied to all, has said the EU is far from the place its founders dreamed of.
12.09pm GMT
And we're off. Crowd starts moving toward Green Park to the strains of "happy birthday to EU" pic.twitter.com/pJ7gnA7w8o
12.07pm GMT
Some breaking news: Ukip’s only member of parliament, Douglas Carswell, has quit the party, announcing on his website that he will become an independent MP.
Carswell, who defected from the Conservative party to Ukip in August 2014, said he was leaving the party “amicably, cheerfully and in the knowledge that we won”.
Related: Ukip's only MP Douglas Carswell quits party
12.01pm GMT
My fave so far #UniteForEurope #MarchForEurope2017 pic.twitter.com/ualCNctSFb
11.57am GMT
Juncker hails ‘optimistic mood’
11.53am GMT
More from Rome: EU leaders have signed the Rome declaration that enshrines the principle of a multi-speed bloc, allowing some nations can move ahead while others stay on the sidelines on specific issues.
The declaration, signed by 27 nations, said that “we will act together, at different paces and intensity where necessary, while moving in the same direction”.
11.51am GMT
It appears that the start of the march has been delayed until noon at police request due to congestion. Buses are still arriving.
March steward tells me organisers expecting crowd of 16,000. Hoping for 20,000. Sounds about right to me. Angry heckling from motorists.
11.50am GMT
The leaders of the 27 states that will make up the European Union after Britain’s departure have gathered in Rome to reaffirm their support for the bloc.
Related: EU leaders mark 60th anniversary with Rome declaration
11.38am GMT
Meanwhile in Rome, the leaders of European Union members - except Theresa May - have gathered to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. The treaty was the forerunner to what became the EU.
11.31am GMT
Large #UniteForEurope crowd gathered in Park Lane ready to start march. How large hard to tell from here. Not huge but not small either. pic.twitter.com/N8zGKQ1jGY
A spirited crowd of Brexit protesters gathered at Hyde Park Corner in spring sunshine for the start of the Unite For Europe march on parliament. Many were carrying yellow flowers to lay at the memorial for victims of the Westminster attacks.
11.22am GMT
Matt Kamen, who writes for the Observer and Wired among others, is at the Unite for Europe march.
Well, quite. #UniteForEurope #StopBrexit #EU4ME pic.twitter.com/xy7ge5dhGB
11.19am GMT
David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham in north London, tweets:
Don't mourn, organise. Will be speaking at #UniteForEurope later. See you there.
11.17am GMT
Dan Roberts, our Brexit policy editor, is live tweeting the march:
Crowd beginning the gather in Park Lane for the Unite For Europe march on parliament. Sun shining, positive atmosphere, lots of EU flags pic.twitter.com/EiwVgLCz0n
Many of the #uniteforeurope marchers on Brexit rally carrying yellow flowers to lay at the memorial to terrorist victims outside parliament pic.twitter.com/UeBbeOlPD5
Rachael Shermaur from Devon is one of many to have travelled some way for #uniteforeurope march, says she want to show the 48% are not alone pic.twitter.com/5bM20Z6KR0
10.58am GMT
Welcome to our live coverage of the Unite for Europe march in central London today. The protest is being held just days before the prime minister is expected to trigger Article 50, which will formally notify Brussels of the UK’s intention to leave the European Union.
It is also the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community- the forerunner of the EU.
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