As Gina Miller spoke of the abuse she received throughout the Supreme Court case which ruled on Tuesday that parliament must be consulted before Article 50 is triggered, many people from both sides of the Brexit debate spoke out in her defence.
Speaking on the steps of the Supreme Court, Miller, the lead complainant in the case, said: “I have been shocked by the levels of personal abuse I have received…for simply bringing and asking a legitimate question.
“I sincerely hope that going forwards, people who stand in positions of power and profile are much quicker in condemning those who cross the lines of common decency and respect.”
Miller has previously spoken out about receiving death and rape threats, and was singled out by some newspapers as being “foreign-born”, even though she grew up in the UK.
But in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision both Brexiters and Remainers were united in the belief that she should be treated with respect.
A number of commenters online also said that although they wanted to see Britain leave the EU, they welcomed Tuesday’s ruling because it protected parliamentary authority.
The landmark ruling follows a legal challenge by the Government after a High Court ruling in November found the Prime Minister did not have the authority to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty without consulting MPs and peers.
By upholding the High Court judgement, Parliament will now have the right to debate and vote on invoking Article 50.
The court voted against the Government’s appeal by eight votes to three.
Writing in the Guardian about today’s result, Miller said: “The judges of the supreme court have not handed me a victory. The victors are our constitution, our laws, and, I would argue, our way of life.”
She added: “It is one of the most beautiful things about our country that just one individual, so long as he or she has the law on their side, can take on the most powerful institutions or people in the land and win.”