A number of Friday’s front pages have been lambasted for their hyperbolic headlines on the successful legal challenge to the triggering of Article 50.
The High Court ruled yesterday that Theresa May cannot trigger Brexit without first consulting Parliament - a decision which left many Leave supporters furious.
In reaction, Today’s Daily Express front page said: “WE MUST GET OUT OF THE EU”:
It went on to claim that the UK “faces a crisis as grave as anything since the dark days when Churchill vowed we would fight them on the beaches” and called on its readers to “fight, fight, fight” for their “freedom”.
It also likened the EU’s treatment of the UK to being raped and forcibly sterilised.
It asked: “Where were the self-styled champions of British sovereignty when the Mother of Parliaments was being forcibly sterilised by the European Communities Act and then politically raped by the treaties of Maastricht, Dublin and Lisbon?”
The paper added: “Truly, November 3, 2016, was the day democracy died.”
Gary Linker led the charge against the paper, calling its declaration “quite possibly the biggest overreaction in newspaper history”.
He also hit back at those who suggested his opinion wasn’t welcome:
Many others voiced similar opinions to Lineker...
The Daily Mail also got stuck in with their own dramatic front page, which featured a line-up of the High Court judges involved in yesterday’s ruling.
It branded them “ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE”.
Inside it also profiled the trio behind the Article 50 legal challenge as “The Ex Model” (Gina Miller), “The Brazilian Hairdresser” (Deir Dos Santos) and “The Plumbing Boss” (Charlie Mullins).
It described Miller as “sultry” and “cougarish”, drawing attention to her relationship history and clothing, and claiming she “prowls the City...in killer heels and tight-fitting frocks”.
Many labelled the Mail’s front page as “dangerous”...
Some drew comparisons between the headline and other times in history when people have been labelled “enemies”...
Some had their own suggestions for who they believed the real “enemies of the people” were...
The Daily Telegraph’s “The judges versus the people” and Sun’s “Who do EU think you are?” front pages also attracted criticism...
The backlash to yesterday’s High Court ruling from pro-Brexiters was exceptionally strong, with one of the campaigners who brought the legal challenge even receiving a string of death threats.
Gina Miller, 51, led the action against the government’s plan to commence Article 50 negotiations to leave the EU without parliament’s consent.
But Miller has received online threats, including people saying she should be “shot” and “hung”.
This, as well as the Mail’s front page, prompted some to express their concern, particularly given the recent killing of Labour MP Jo Cox...
One even referenced the words the man accused of killing Cox used when asked to give his name in court:
Cox’s husband, Brendan, said that the issue should be debated “soberly”.
In a blog on HuffPost UK, Angela Eagle dismissed the furious reaction from some sections of the media, as well as Ukip’s Suzanne Evans, as “misleading and dangerous rubbish”.
She added: “This decision in fact bolsters Parliamentary sovereignty against the Executive and is right both constitutionally and morally. And since when in the UK is it appropriate to call for the resignation of judges who are doing their constitutionally appointed duty by calling their motives into question because you don’t like their conclusion?”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said: “The rank hypocrisy of these Brexiteers who said we had to take back control by quitting the European Union, particularly take back Parliamentary control, now seem outraged at the exercise of greater Parliamentary control in the decisions that need to be taken.”
Earlier, chief figures from the Brexit campaign were angry Parliament will be given a vote on Article 50 - despite having long-argued in favour of parliamentary sovereignty.
Politicians who spent months promising Brits they could “take back control” of their laws and sovereignty argued fiercely that elected Westminster officials should be denied the chance to debate the biggest political shake-up in modern politics.
And MailOnline was heavily condemned and mocked after using the term “openly gay” to attack one of the judges involved in the case.