Climate activists threaten to close roads and airports
Climate change activists plan to cause Bank Holiday mayhem at airports and on busy roads despite warnings from police they could face £10,000 fines.
extinction Rebellion will begin a four-day ‘regional rebellion’ today with protests across the country including in london, manchester, Bristol, Cardiff and leeds.
and the activists, whose members ripped up the lawn outside Cambridge University’s trinity College and brought parts of london to a halt in last year’s protests, plan to cause more havoc in manchester, Cardiff and the capital next month.
the group revealed yesterday that it had received a letter from Scotland Yard warning that it faced hefty fines if unlawful gatherings were organised in breach of coronavirus rules.
the Home Office said earlier this month: ‘those facilitating or organising illegal raves, unlicensed music events, or any other unlawful gathering of 30 people or more may face a £10,000 fine.’
But Paul Stephens, a former metropolitan Police officer who is now an activist, said the group would be undeterred by this and would be challenging it in a meeting with the force.
‘the exceptions they list are businesses and charities and they didn’t mention protests,’ he said. ‘Of course, in the actual regulations, protests are in there. it is really an empty letter which is a vague threat.’
Converging marches in the heart of london this weekend for the english Bank Holiday will start from landmarks including trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Cathedral. Other protests will include a block on a main road in Bristol, a mass bike ride from Brighton to london, sit-ins, picnics, banner drops, and rallies against the expansion of luton airport and the aviation industry at Gatwick.
Chris Newman, a GP and supporter of the group – known as XR – said: ‘everyone in XR that i’ve spoken to is extremely mindful of the risks and we’re all concerned about health risks. that’s why we’re here, because climate change is a health issue as much as anything. So everyone will be pushing very hard for all XR participants to be obeying government rules.’
extinction Rebellion’s cofounder Roger Hallam, 54, of london, was charged on tuesday with conspiracy to cause criminal damage with four others. the group have been remanded in custody and will appear at Wood Green crown court next month.