The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Green activists shut down Westminster in calls for urgent action
REBELLION: Protesters block roads to highlight climate crisis
Protesters have blocked roads around Westminster and set up camps with tents and banners as they call for urgent action on the climate and wildlife crises.
Celebrities joined the Extinction Rebellion protests as groups of demonstrators shut down roads around Parliament and Whitehall in London, in the start of what is an expected two weeks of action in the capital.
The Metropolitan Police said that by 9.30pm, officers had made 280 arrests in relation to the protests.
But activists succeeded in bringing the area to a standstill with roadblocks on Westminster and Lambeth Bridges, Victoria Street, Whitehall, Horse Guards Road and the Mall.
Parliament Square was empty of traffic except for police vans, bicycles and rickshaws carrying tourists, while costumed protesters walked up Whitehall, and a hearse was used to block the road at Trafalgar Square.
An impromptu cricket game was held outside the Supreme Court and the streets rang with drumming, whistles and chanting, while dozens of tents were erected on the roads and yoga classes took place on Westminster Bridge.
Extinction Rebellion says the protests could be as much as five times bigger than those held in April, which brought major disruption to London and saw more than 1,100 arrests.
It is partofan “internationalrebellion” around the world, with action taking place in cities including Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam and New York.
Hundreds of environmental activists took part in protests through Dublin as part of the action, with a mock funeral procession though the city and a large pink boat unveiled outside the heart of the Irish parliament in Leinster House.
In the UK, Extinction Rebellion is calling on the government to declare a climate and ecological emergency, to act immediately to halt wildlife loss and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2025.
They also want to see the government create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
Actor Sir Mark Rylance joined the roadblock in the Mall, while actress Juliet Stevenson, comedian and author Ruby Wax and model Daisy Lowe also took part in the demonstrations.