Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
‘Block Hyde Park occupation’
TORIES SAY SADIQ KHAN MUST ACT NOW TO STOP ECO ACTIVISTS
THE Mayor of London must intervene to stop a “hypocritical and lawless” occupation of Hyde Park by Extinction Rebellion activists during a London “crime wave”, the leader of the Conservatives in the London Assembly has said.
City Hall Tories have accused Extinction Rebellion activists of trying to “bully” the Met Police into agreeing to a three-day occupation of Hyde Park from September 10. Tory leader Susan Hall AM says the planned occupation would divert “vital resources” away from dealing with a London “crime wave” and cause serious disruption.
Extinction Rebellion activists have asked the Met Police to facilitate their three day occupation from September 10, with Tories alleging the climate group is threatening to cause more disruption if the police do not agree to their plans. The Met Police has yet to announce their response.
Ms Hall is calling for the mayor to advise the Met Police to deny the request – arguing that previous occupations have previously seen criminal damage, road blockages, and criminal behaviour which organisers allegedly failed to prevent. The occupation would also divert the Met Police from addressing serious crime in London, City Hall Tories say. At the weekend, five people were stabbed, two were shot, and a 12-year-old girl was left with life-threatening injuries after a hitand-run incident in the capital.
On Monday last week, there were two stabbings in broad daylight in Hounslow and Peckham, and 87-year-old Thomas O’Halloran, was stabbed to death on his mobility scooter in Greenford last week. The mayor has suggested more violence is to come, partly due to the hot weather, school holidays and cost of living crisis.
The mayor has previously expressed “sympathy” for Extinction Rebellion’s cause but has hit out at their tactics in the past. In October 2019 he hit out at those who targeted the London Underground and DLR, saying he “strongly condemned” the action. In 2019 he defended their right to protest, asking the Met Police to explain to him why it issued a Section 14 order limiting their protests, and urged the force to find a way to allow the protests to continue “legally and peacefully”.
Ms Hall said: “Extinction Rebellion’s hypocritical and lawless occupation will do nothing to reduce climate change, but it will tie up police resources while criminals run rampant during this horrendous crime wave. These activists want to bully the Met Police into allowing a disorderly takeover of Hyde Park, threatening to unleash criminal damage, road blockages, and serious criminal behaviour on London.
“Sadiq Khan cannot blame this one on the weather. The mayor needs to intervene, stop the occupation, and allow the police to focus on keeping Londoners safe.”
Extinction Rebellion said on its website: “We have chosen to occupy a green space [Hyde Park] and focus our attention on nondisruptive, mobilising, educational and community building activities. We are publicly sharing this plan and so the Met would be aware of it whether we chose to liaise with them or not.
“We have chosen to be transparent with them and argue that if they chose to interfere with our plans and stop us occupying Hyde Park, our next option would be to move our Occupation to the nearest junction and cause disruption.”
Earlier this month, it emerged that Extinction Rebellion protests have cost the Met Police over £60 million since 2019. Extinction Rebellion activists will follow the September 2022 occupation with a bus tour, for which they plan to use diesel buses, according to their website, saying buying new electric vehicles would not be “environmentally sound”.
The police have new powers to impose so-called Section 12 and 14 notices on protests which “may result in a significant delay to the delivery of a time-sensitive product to consumers of that product” - a phrase written to prevent a repeat of when Extinction Rebellion blocked the printing of titles owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 2020. It will also restrict protests that cause “prolonged disruption” to the delivery of essential goods and services, which would include Insulate Britain blocking ambulances.
Climate activists have announced plans to bring “millions” of people onto the streets from September 10 this year despite another anti-protest bill on its way. The Public Order Bill seeks to reintroduce curbs on protest that were thrown out of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill by the House of Lords.
Last month, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson told MyLondon the protests from September will almost entirely take place in London, with mass doorknocking of residents in the capital to build support in the run-up. “It will be focused on Central London, and last at least a week,” they said, with the climate crisis “front and centre of the actions”.
Asked if the climate group would change how it protests after the recent passing of the policing bill – which put new restrictions on ‘noisy’ protests, a spokesperson told MyLondon in May: “There won’t be major changes to our style of protest. There will be mass participation, civil disobedience and non-violent direct action.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The mayor supports the democratic right to peaceful protest and it is evident from the extreme weather events London has experienced in recent years that much more needs to be done to tackle the climate emergency.”
The mayor needs to intervene, stop the occupation and allow police [to keep} Londoners safe