Nigel Farage will not complete Brexit Betrayal march despite urging supporters to join him
The former UKIP leader says the event was to show "the political class" that voters will not put up with a delayed Brexit.
Monday 18 March 2019 13:55, UK
Nigel Farage says he will not be completing the 200-mile Brexit Betrayal march from the North East to Westminster despite asking supporters to join him.
Launching the event last month, the former UKIP leader tweeted: "We're marching from Sunderland to London... get your walking boots on!"
But he later admitted he would walk only "some of it".
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Mr Farage, an MEP, said the event was to show "the political class" that voters will not put up with a delayed Brexit.
The march set off from Sunderland, with Mr Farage leading it amid chaotic scenes.
"The will of the people is very clear," he said.
"If politicians think they can walk all over us, then we're going to march back and tell them they can't. Simple as that."
Several anti-Brexit protesters gathered as the march got under way, with angry rows breaking out between the two sides.
Anti-Brexit protesters set off a flare with the EU colours and shouted "exit Brexit" while some marchers called them "EU money grabbers", and one waved a fake blue passport in their direction.
Supporters of his Leave Means Leave campaign were asked to pay £50 to sponsor a marcher or to join the march for two days or more, and organisers say more than 350 people have signed up.
The walk, which ends in two weeks with a rally in Westminster, is being coordinated by political activist Harry Todd.
He gave Sky News a guarantee he would walk every mile of the route despite admitting he had done no training.
"We're going to give a very visual demonstration of what the feeling is in this country still is, and that is to leave," he explained.
The march will be shadowed by several anti-Brexit groups, including one that raised more than £30,000 to pay for mobile advertising screens.
Campaign group Led By Donkeys, whose organisers want to remain anonymous, told Sky News by email that Mr Farage doesn't represent them.
"He's organised this march with his millionaire friends and a Westminster lobbying firm while all the time pretending this march is a grassroots thing," said a spokesman.
"On the other hand we're a bunch of volunteer dads who've crowdfunded these vans with fivers and tenners from people around the country."
Leave Means Leave says 50 people have signed up to do all 14 days of walking, and it says all of them have "self-assessed" their ability to complete the event.
Although several lengthy sections of the route will be missed out, with walkers bussed up to 30 miles from the end of one day's walk to the start of the next, they will still walk up to 20 miles a day, every day, for two weeks.
Experienced ramblers have expressed doubts about such a gruelling schedule.
Bill McTimoney, chairman of Teesside's Stockton Rambling Club, says an inexperienced walker would not be able to complete it.
He warned: "You can't walk off the street and do the day walks we do."
He believes 200 miles in 14 days would be a big challenge even for an experienced long distance walker.
"It's a lot of days to walk in a row," he said.