XR protesters left 120 tons of rubbish
MP reveals how London taxpayers had to foot bill for Extinction Rebellion’s 2019 campaign
The takeover of central London by Extinction Rebellion in 2019 saw the protesters leave 120 tons of rubbish, a council leader has said. Members shut down major streets in the capital in October 2019 “to rebel against the world’s governments” over climate change “inaction”. Nickie Aiken, Conservative MP for Cities of London and Westminster, has now disclosed that the 120 tons of rubbish had to be removed from her constituency’s streets, costing £50,000.
‘I was told by the council that last time XR were here for two weeks, they cleared 120 tons of rubbish left behind. That added £50,000 to their costs. This is local people’s council tax’
THE takeover of central London by Extinction Rebellion saw the eco-protesters leave behind 120 tons of rubbish, a council leader has said.
Members shut down major streets in the capital in October 2019 “to rebel against the world’s governments” over climate change “inaction”.
Nickie Aiken, Conservative MP for Cities of London and Westminster, has now disclosed that the 120 tons of rubbish had to be removed from her constituency’s streets, costing £50,000.
The former leader of Westminster city council said: “The disruption to local people and businesses is immeasurable. I was told by the council that last time XR were here for two weeks, they cleared 120 tons of rubbish left behind. That added £50,000 to their costs. This is local people’s council tax.
“There are major areas of deprivation in central London and 25 per cent of homes are social rented. The wealthy who live here have gone for the summer, so it’s those who live here permanently and can’t escape who are living with this so-called ‘beautiful chaos’.
“The police resources going into policing this protest in the next fortnight is shocking. At the same time, our neighbourhoods are not seeing their local police officers because they’re in central London.”
XR has brought parts of London to a standstill this week as part of a fortnight of action aimed at persuading the Government to stop new investment in fossil fuels. More than 100 people have been arrested so far.
Protesters targeted the Brazilian embassy near Trafalgar Square yesterday to highlight “the genocidal attacks being waged against Brazil’s indigenous peoples”. They then erected a giant pink table in Oxford Circus, blocking traffic, to encourage world leaders to “come to the table” to engage with the issue of global heating.
This week, they also blocked the entrance to Selfridges in Oxford Street to demonstrate against clothes production, which they claim is damaging the environment.
Protesters daubed the pavement and themselves with a black substance to represent an oil spill. Demonstrators in Leicester Square spent a night glued to Mcdonald’s as part of an action to persuade the fast food chain to switch to a fully plant-based food menu by 2025.
Rachael Robathan, leader of Westminster city council, said: “We completely support the right of any group to demonstrate peacefully and highlight their cause. It is crucial that these protests are well managed to keep disruption to a minimum and improve access for our residents, businesses and visitors so they feel welcome and safe in the city”.
An XR spokesman said: “As Westminster Council will confirm, the £50,000 figure was a “service” cost, meaning the total cost of council services that were temporarily re-deployed during our two-week October 2019 protests. There was no additional money spent by the council and no additional cost to the taxpayer. The 120 tonnes of rubbish collected took place over a two-week period. To put that figure into comparison: During London’s News Year celebrations 2016-17, Westminster cleared up 85 tonnes of rubbish from just one night.
“As anyone who has been to an Extinction Rebellion protest will know, we are scrupulous about clearing up after ourselves.”
An XR founder this week called for a “crowdfunder” to pay for her to get an electric car after admitting she drove a diesel vehicle. Dr Gail Bradbrook suggested the public should contribute to the £5,000 she would need to upgrade her vehicle so it was more eco-friendly. Her comment comes after she admitted driving an environmentally damaging diesel car because she cannot afford to buy an electric one.