‘Bury’ no-deal Brexit, says Royal Society president

Venki Ramakrishnan, president of the Royal Society, has revealed that he signed the petition to revoke Article 50 and is calling for the threat of a no-deal Brexit to be “buried permanently”.

The Royal Society confirmed to Research Fortnight that its president and Nobel prize-winning biologist had signed the petition, after Ramakrishnan announced the move in a blogpost published on the website of the campaign group Scientists for EU on 28 March.

Ramakrishnan revealed that he signed the petition in his personal capacity as a result of parliament’s indecision on Brexit. “Given the current gridlock, I personally feel it would be best to revoke Article 50 and I signed the ongoing petition accordingly (in a personal capacity),” he wrote.