A Leave campaigner who was worried Remain would win has admitted he set up the hugely popular petition to re-run the EU referendum - which has garnered more than three million signatures.

William Oliver Healey, an English Democrat activist, set up the petition in May. It asks for the EU referendum to be re-run if the remain or leave vote is less than 60%, based a turnout of less than 75%.

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Since the results of the referendum were announced, with the Leave campaign winning by 52% to 48% from a turnout of 72%, the number of signatories demanding another referendum has soared.

It is now the most-signed government petition since the online process was introduced in 2011. In comparison, the Block Donald J Trump from UK entry petition, which was given broad media coverage, reached 586,000 signatures.

But Mr Healey is not happy that his referendum petition has become such a roaring success.

Writing on Facebook, he admitted he was the creator of the petition, but said: “Due to the result, the petition has been hijacked by the Remain campaign.”

“THERE WAS NO GUARANTEE OF A LEAVE VICTORY AT THAT TIME!” he adds, in capitals.

Mr Healey has apparently disowned the petition, describing himself as its “creator, nothing more”, and has turned his ire on the Remain campaign.

“I am genuinely appalled by the behaviour of some of the Remain campaign, how they are conducting themselves post-referendum not just with this petition but generally. The referendum was fairly funded; democratically endorsed, every vote was weighted equally and I believe this was a true reflection of the mood of the country,” he said.

Shape Created with Sketch. Brexit reactions – in pictures Show all 10 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Brexit reactions – in pictures 1/10 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look at their phones after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall AP 2/10 Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Reuters 3/10 Mr Cameron announces his resignation to supporters Getty 4/10 Donald Tusk proposes that the 27 remaining EU member states ‘start a wider reflection on the future of our union’ Getty 5/10 Ukip leader Nigel Farage greets his supporters on College Green in Westminster, after Britain voted to leave the European Union PA 6/10 Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as referendum results are announced today Getty 7/10 Boris Johnson leaves his home today to discover a crowd of waiting journalists and police officers Getty 8/10 Leave EU supporters celebrate as they watch the British EU Referendum results being televised at Millbank Tower in London Rex 9/10 Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as results of the EU referendum are announced at the Royal Festival Hall Reuters 10/10 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall PA 1/10 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look at their phones after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall AP 2/10 Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Reuters 3/10 Mr Cameron announces his resignation to supporters Getty 4/10 Donald Tusk proposes that the 27 remaining EU member states ‘start a wider reflection on the future of our union’ Getty 5/10 Ukip leader Nigel Farage greets his supporters on College Green in Westminster, after Britain voted to leave the European Union PA 6/10 Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as referendum results are announced today Getty 7/10 Boris Johnson leaves his home today to discover a crowd of waiting journalists and police officers Getty 8/10 Leave EU supporters celebrate as they watch the British EU Referendum results being televised at Millbank Tower in London Rex 9/10 Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as results of the EU referendum are announced at the Royal Festival Hall Reuters 10/10 Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall PA

Parliament considers any petition that gets more than 100,000 signatures for debate, so Mr Healey’s petition may yet reach MPs, no matter how he feels about it.

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