The very middle-class protesters bringing mayhem to our roads
A YOGA teacher, tech entrepreneur and university worker are among thousands of activists aiming to bring London to a standstill today.
The Left-wing mob, led by highly educated professional protesters with very middle-class upbringings, want to stage a mock funeral march through the city.
The eco- warriors have already sparked outrage by blocking major bridges and bottlenecks with noisy protests in the last week. The leading protesters oppose fracking and a third runway at Heathrow.
They believe the country has reached a ‘tipping point’ in which direct action is the only option left to save the planet. But critics claim the activists are creating even more pollution by causing tailbacks. Among the protesters hellbent on bringing chaos to our roads is Joanna Bodimeade, 30, a jet- setting yoga teacher who blogs about her exotic trips around the world.
A veteran of green protests, she has shut down the M4 and campaigned against a third runway at Heathrow.
She will be joined by Maximus Richardson, 32, a Staffordshire University film production graduate who travels from his parents’ £1.2million home near Heathrow to join the protests.
He is currently promoting a social network linked to a cryptocurrency.
Robin Boardman-Pattison, a Bristol University languages student, is at the centre of the London protests, threatening: ‘ We are not going to stop.’
Originally from Beckenham on the London-Kent border, the 21year-old spray paints buildings to further his green agenda.
Dr Larch Maxey, a Plymouth University ‘visiting specialist’, says he is never happier than when foraging near his flat in Totnes, Devon. The anti-fracking-campaigner refuses to fly to overseas conferences, insisting on appearing by video link.
Nick Cooper, 34, a technician at lie University of Northampon- who has been arrested twice in a fortnight, will also be demonstrating. He was among 82 supporters of the Extinctio Rebellion movement to b arrested amid 6,000-strong pro tests on five bridges across th Thames on Saturday last week.
Most arrests were made o Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriar Bridge as police forced ope routes to a major hospital.
Today, organisers plan to cause even more disruption. One said: ‘We will do ten bridges, we are looking at 500-plus arrests.’
Speaking at another protest this week – in breach of his bail conditions – Mr Cooper said: ‘We have to be disruptive like this in order for those in power to take notice.’ On Wednesday protesters walked on to roads in Westminster, Tower Bridge, Elephant and Castle in south London and Earl’s Court to the west.
One woman, who was walking to work, said: ‘ This is not the right thing to do. They are causing more pollution with all this standing traffic.’
The protesters have been told to gather outside Parliament at 10am before moving on to other locations. Organiser Ronan McNern said: ‘This is about causing economic disruption by bringing things to a gridlock.’
The Metropolitan Police said: ‘If you do drive into London, please note attempting to drive through protesters in the road is very dangerous and illegal.’
‘They’re causing more pollution’