SCUTTLED!
After FIVE days bizarrely moored at Oxford Circus, pink yacht that symbolised eco protest chaos finally cut free by police and towed away
A PINK boat at the centre of protests by eco-warriors wreaking havoc in London was finally towed away by police last night.
In dramatic scenes lasting over six hours, officers attempted to wrest back control of one of four roads in the capital which protesters have occupied for five days.
The operation to remove the yacht from Oxford Circus was briefly hindered when protesters blocked the tow truck – but it was eventually taken away at 9pm.
Police have faced strong criticism for failing to restore law and order during the protests – despite making 682 arrests over the week.
However, yesterday afternoon a huge operation involving hundreds of officers was launched to tackle the obstruction on the busy city centre route.
The road had been closed to traffic since Monday – with climate change protesters from Left-wing group Extinction Rebellion camping out overnight to guard their position on the road.
Yesterday police began by forming two large ‘rings of steel’ around the boat, which was rigged up with a sound system and was being used as a stage for the activists.
As officers moved in, Oscarwinning actress Dame Emma Thompson, 60, was giving a speech from the top of the boat in which she called the Government ‘liars and hypocrites’.
The boat, towed into central London especially for the protest, is named ‘Berta Caceres’ after a Honduran environmental activist murdered in 2016.
Officers pushed back curious members of the public and threatened anyone remaining inside their cordon with arrest. Those who remained were promptly carried off into waiting police vans.
Specially- trained ‘ protest removal’ officers then moved in with tools, helmets and ropes. Around 25 activists were removed from underneath the boat, where they were superglued to the ground. Others had ‘locked’ themselves to the vessel using tubes, which had to be cut by officers.
Among those arrested was a 36-year- old NHS nurse from Wales, who had taken a week off to join the protests.
The last remaining activist was Jack Mace, from London, who straddled the top of the boat wearing a captain’s hat. He had chained his hands to its mast.
The activist was broadcasting the police operation to unseat him live on his Facebook page as large crowds chanted, ‘We love you, we love you!’ The final video cut abruptly when a police officer, wearing a hard hat and attached to ropes, scaled a ladder and joined him on the deck.
Mr Mace was then given a helmet and strapped into a harness before being lowered down to the road as the crowd booed.
After his protective helmet was removed, he put his captain’s hat back on and was carried away into a waiting police van. Officers were then left to pick up sleeping bags, rubbish and cardboard mats strewn in the area by protesters.
The boat was stripped of its speaker system, furniture and lights and the mast was lowered. It was hooked up to the back of a police truck and slowly driven away with a police escort around 7pm, while the crowd chanted: ‘We have more boats!’
The boat got as far as Great Portland Street – half a mile away – before the tow truck was blocked by protesters, who all lay down in the road.
However the group eventually decided to move out of the vehicle’s path, and the boat was towed away from central London at around 9pm.
Scotland Yard has faced mounting criticism for failing to clear the protesters from their makeshift camps and restore law and order to the capital’s busiest streets.
The activists were last night continuing to block roads at Waterloo Bridge, Marble Arch and Parliament Square by creating human barricades. Waterloo
‘We have more boats!’
Bridge has been closed to traffic in both directions since Monday, with protesters planting trees, setting up vegan food stalls and erecting a skate park.
A festival-style camping village – complete with yurts and toilets – has been set up at Marble Arch, the only protest site sanctioned by police. At Parliament Square, activists have been holding discussion groups and workshops in the road.
Retailers have claimed that the protest at Oxford Circus has cost them millions in takings due to the inconvenience caused during the busy Easter period.
Extinction Rebellion wants the Government to introduce a legally-binding policy to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to declare a ‘climate emergency’.
The group has threatened to continue to escalate protests unless the demands are met.
The Metropolitan Police has come under fire for it’s softly-softly tactics with the protesters, who have been well organised and mostly peaceful.
On Thursday, the force said it had ‘no legal basis’ to forcibly stop the protesters moving around London, adding: ‘These are peaceful protesters. While disruptive, their actions are not violent towards police, themselves or the public.’
But Scotland Yard has come under mounting political pressure, with Home Secretary Sajid Javid saying he expects police to ‘use the full force of the law’ against activists protesting illegally.
Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, yesterday told BBC Breakfast the protests were ‘very, very difficult’ to handle and could cost ‘millions’. He said: ‘The sufferers will be the local boroughs where officers are being taken from the community areas and the funding has to be found to deal with what we are doing.’
Due to the protests, officers had been told they would be working 12-hour shifts over the Bank Holiday weekend and rest days and leave were cancelled.