The hypocrisy behind this New Age circus

DAY four of the great climate-change circus and what fun they’re all having. Mass yoga sessions, tented villages, bongo bands, even a makeshift hayfield on Waterloo Bridge.

And what are the police doing as this New Age extravaganza brings the centre of London grinding to an exasperating halt? Why, joining in of course – dancing and skateboarding with their new chums.

Much easier than clearing the streets so millions of ordinary people can get on with their lives.

Dr Gail Bradbrook, co-founder of the group behind the protest – Extinction Rebellion – summed up the mood. ‘It’s awesome. People are having a fantastic time. Take some time off work and join us.’

And there you have the essential hypocrisy of this sanctimonious farce. For Dr Bradbrook and her smug band of ecowarriors, going to work is optional. If they don’t fancy it, they can just bunk off.

But for those whose lives they are disrupting, especially the poorest, paid employment is an absolute necessity – to make the rent, feed the children, keep the lights on. For four days many have seen their earnings dwindle or stop. Will Extinction Rebellion compensate them?

The whole protest is shot through with middle-class arrogance. Among the group’s demands is a ‘citizens’ assembly’, to oversee a move to zero carbon emissions by 2025.

This would probably involve banning petrol as well as diesel cars and ending the use of gas and other fossil fuels. It would drive Britain back towards the preindustrial age – with all the hardship and poverty that entailed.

If that’s what Dr Bradbrook wants, she’s in a very tiny minority.

For her information, Britain already has a citizens’ assembly. It’s called the House of Commons. If she wants to turbo-charge her climate-change crusade, let her do it through democratic channels, rather than trying to turn central London into Greenham Common camp.

But why are the police allowing this absurd spectacle to continue? In normal circumstances, anyone bringing the life of the capital to a halt would be corralled and herded off the streets.

The truth is that the authorities are morally complicit. They are so desperate to be seen to have a conscience about climate change – London’s virtue-signalling mayor Sadiq Khan especially – that they’re effectively condoning the protest.

So what next? The protesters plan to blockade tube stations, besiege Heathrow and heaven knows what else. Will Mr Khan take action – or just cheer them on like some starry-eyed groupie?

The police too share the blame. Having committed hundreds of officers to keep public order, they have signally failed in their task.

Meanwhile, as they cavort on Waterloo Bridge, the knife-crime epidemic claims yet another victim – a man in his 30s murdered on a Stoke Newington street. For so many reasons, this national embarrassment has gone on quite long enough.

The streets must be cleared, by force if necessary, so those hundreds of police officers can get back to their day job – preventing crime and protecting the people who pay their wages.