Eco-protesters are back with vow to shut capital
POLICE were last night braced for a fortnight of chaos as eco-activists prepared to shut down central London and demonstrate in cities across the UK.
Extinction Rebellion (XR) predicted that up to 30,000 people will descend on Westminster to seize bridges and block roads around Whitehall in a bid to force ministers to act on climate change.
It will make the action five times bigger than protests in April which caused large-scale disruption.
The meat market at Smithfield is high on the list of targets and campaigners plan to stage a threeday sit-in at London City Airport.
The movement is also planning to shut down Parliament for the Queen’s Speech next Monday.
A source said: “We have a plan in and around Westminster. If we cannot get in there, there are other plans which are potentially more disruptive.”
Organisation of the protests has been decentralised so that if one group is arrested another can take over.
Another campaigner added: “You cannot behead this rebellion.”
The protests are part of a global movement, which will coincide with action in cities including Paris, New York, Buenos Aires and Delhi.
But the Metropolitan Police has been preparing for the protests for months and has already begun to round up potential leaders.
Over the weekend 10 people – seven men and three women – were held on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance.
Arrests
The arrests took place after officers raided the former Lambeth County Court building. It was being used to store supplies for the protest, including six vehicles, gazebos, portable toilets and bean bags.
On Friday, police also arrested eight people after fake blood was sprayed at the Treasury building.
One of the group’s founders, Bristol University drop-out Robin Boardman, 21, said the authorities are now taking XR seriously.
He said: “Gandhi said, ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, next they fight you and then you win’. Next week they will fight us, so we are getting closer to winning.” The Metropolitan Police last week said that, since April, XR’s protesters have tied down about 83,000 officers – more than the Grenfell fire and the London Bridge and Westminster terrorist attacks combined in 2017.
A spokesman said: “The policing will be proportionate to balance the right to peaceful protest while ensuring disruption to communities is kept to a minimum.”