Months of planning behind a very middle-class protest
Extinction Rebellion’s eco-warriors had classes on how to cause maximum disruption to a city
Within the walls of community halls and meeting rooms around the country this spring, hundreds of climate change activists took their seats to learn the art of civil disobedience.
Posters pinned to walls outlined the ethos of this new group: “Eco not Ego” read one; another warned how “suppression juice” (alcohol) rendered rebels redundant; while a more topical take stated that there could be “No Brexit on a dead planet”.
Extinction Rebellion (XR), founded by environmentalists in autumn last year, held numerous sessions to induct new recruits and give refresher courses for seasoned activists, explaining how to cause maximum disruption to a city.
Eco-warriors of all ages were told enthusiastically that their newfound skills must be put to the test on Monday on the streets of London. The planned demo would be a “declaration of rebellion against the UK Government” over its “failure” to save the planet.
Their methods were simple: “have fun” (yoga and dancing a must), reclaim and blockade streets and get arrested. The speakers explained how to absorb police resources by playing dead (four officers are then needed to remove the deadweight) or superglue a hand to a target train or building (specialist teams are needed to unglue activists).
Then, wear “adult nappies” and carry a good book in the event of being locked in a police van for long periods of time.
This was not a ragtag bunch of ineffective idealists. Extinction Rebellion, which counts academics and full-time political and environmental activists among their number, knew organisation was key. They appointed media officers, camera crews, legal observers and “wellbeing coordinators”. More senior activists received instructions to become “de-escalators” – those placating the inevitable anger direct action can engender from a public prevented from going about their business.
And so, last Monday, a very middlewere
class demonstration began in London. Students, professors, pensioners and even some children descended on Marble Arch carrying homemade banners, potted plants, yoga mats and Tupperware filled with vegan food.
As portable sound systems blared out reggae and rave, the scenes on Waterloo Bridge, in Oxford Circus and Parliament Square could easily have been mistaken for a music festival.
At first, police looked on perhaps a little bemused as traffic ground to a halt. But, within hours, five people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage at the Shell offices in Waterloo.
The demonstrators appeared to call the bluff of Scotland Yard after commanders invoked Section 14 of the Public Order Act, effectively allowing protests only in Marble Arch, meaning those refusing to move on from other protests locations could be arrested.
A “merry-go-round” began of protesters who had played dead being lugged to vans, taken to police stations, processed before being told they were, invariably, under investigation.
Upon their release, they gathered their belongings and returned to the protests awaiting their next arrest. Rarely have arrests been so genteel. Officers confided that some activists handed over a list of their allergies.
That Monday, 52 people were arrested as the Met declared it responded with a “proportionate policing plan” to allow peaceful protest. Others were less impressed.
Business complained of losing millions of pounds, as commuters questioned why illegal encampments
‘Their methods were simple: have fun (yoga and dancing a must), reclaim and blockade streets and get arrested’
allowed to bring gridlock to major road and rail arteries. Having decreed this environmental revolution would be televised, XR tweeted and Facebooked, harnessing the power of social media to promote their campaign. The power of the smartphone was proved when a plan to bring the Underground to a halt was thwarted when Tube bosses simply flicked off the subterranean Wi-fi.
The next day, the Met’s arrest tally closed in on 300.
Meanwhile, 1,000 people blockaded North Bridge in Edinburgh before holding a protest in Princes Street, leading to nearly 30 arrests.
But criticism of the police’s “softly, softly” approach was compounded when a few officers were filmed dancing with London protesters. Officers were also at pains to be considerate to two activists who had glued themselves to the roof of a DLR train as they fitted goggles and helmets before gently removing them.
By Thursday, Chris Packham, the nature broadcaster, and Dame Emma Thompson, the Bafta-winning actress, had joined in.
But, the public’s patience was wearing thin. Lord John Stevens, the former Met commissioner, took to the airwaves to question whether more robust policing was now needed.
On Thursday, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, summoned Cressida Dick, the current Met boss, to a meeting, before urging police to use “the full force of the law” to prevent “misery to millions”.
On Good Friday, a planned day of disruption at Heathrow Airport came to nought as rows of police blocked mainly young protesters from getting anywhere near airside.
XR remains adamant it will continue its demonstration calling on the Government to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2025 and establish a citizens’ assembly to draw up an emergency plan to tackle climate change. It remains to be seen how this impasse will eventually be resolved.
But one is thing near certain: Extinction Rebellion, which has 100 regional groups in Britain and 35 affiliates around the world, will be holding more lessons on civil disobedience in many more community halls and meeting rooms as it plans yet more direct action demonstrations.