How has this happened AGAIN? Fury as ‘outnumbered’ police simply look on as – despite publishing a full list of targets and Boris Johnson ordering officers to use ‘the full force of the law’ on the crowds
- Climate activists shut Lambeth Bridge and Westminster Bridge in London at start of fortnight of protests
- Celebrities were seen in Trafalgar Square, where the group are holding their protest ‘opening ceremony’
- Demonstrators also block Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Downing Street and Victoria Embankment today
- Key traffic routes in Westminster face major congestion as buses are diverted and motorists are delayed
- Thousands are ready to face arrest, go to jail and go on hunger strike in attempt to curb global warming
By MARK DUELL and SHEKHAR BHATIA and RORY TINGLE and MARTIN ROBINSON and WILLIAM COLE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:01 EDT, 7 Oct. 2019 | UPDATED: 12:48 EDT, 7 Oct.r 2019
Fury has erupted after ‘outnumbered’ police simply look on as Extinction Rebellion protesters shut down London for a second time – despite the group publishing a full list of targets and Boris Johnson ordering officers to use ‘the full force of the law’ on the crowds.
A stone’s throw from Parliament on Westminster Bridge a solitary officer was filmed merely standing and watching as demonstrators planted a shrubbery across the road to bring traffic to a standstill.
Around the capital at more than a dozen protest sites hundreds of protestors easily overran a relatively modest police presence, prompting onlookers to suggest police were unable to cope with the huge numbers of activists.
But the group’s intended locations and tactics were published in advance and this morning the senior officer in charge of the force’s response insisted: ‘Where behaviour is unlawful, and obstructing the highways for significant periods of time … we will deal with – and we will deal with robustly.’
This evening the Met has yet to confirm how many officers it has deployed, or why their numbers were insufficient to keep routes open and traffic flowing in the face of XR’s stated aim of a protest five times bigger than that in April, which saw more than 1,100 arrests.
Climate activists from Extinction Rebellion lock together to stop traffic on Whitehall in Westminster as police (bottom of frame) stand and film the scene. The Met has been criticised after small numbers of officers were swamped by protestors1.00Extinction Rebellion protesters built shrubbery in LondonLoaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipMuteCurrent Time0:00/Duration Time0:09FullscreenNeed Text
Today was the first day of a planned fortnight of disruption by Extinction Rebellion, bringing chaos to London as they shut down key routes in the city.
Protesters were joined by eco-luvvies Daisy Lowe, Mark Rylance, Ruby Wax and Juliet Stevenson in Trafalgar Square as they shut down the landmark.
For the next two weeks XR – which has posted details and maps of its planned disruptions in advance – intends to cripple the capital with 148 protesters arrested already since the protests began at 7am today.
One senior member warned ahead of the protests that if police shut them down: ‘We have other plans that are more disruptive’.
Commuters vented their fury about long delays and miles of queues as they criticised the XR ‘hypocrites’ causing more pollution by forcing cars to sit idling, while others blasted the ‘nuisances’ who had ruined their journeys.
Today streets around Westminster were packed with police threatening to arrest anyone blocking roads – but witnesses said they were being swamped because of the number of eco-zealots gathering on streets and bridges.
One group locked themselves inside a car parked in the middle of Whitehall close to Downing Street and the Cenotaph – others chained themselves by the arms and head to a hearse parked in Trafalgar Square and glued themselves to scaffolding poles.
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Social media users have complained that the protesters were taking up huge amounts of police resources in London today
It has become common for the detained protesters to be carried by police, because they try to cause maximum disruption by refusing to walk to the van – meaning it can take up to six officers for each arrest.
MailOnline has asked the Metropolitan Police for comment about their handling of the protests.
On one end of Lambeth Bridge protesters started to build a house before climbing on top when police tried to dismantle it while Smithfield Market, London’s largest meat market, was ‘occupied’ by 500 people starting with a minute’s silence for the dead animals there and around the world.
Describing the scene close to Westminster Abbey, one onlooker told MailOnline: ‘Half of them are smoking weed, have cheap fold up tents that will just get binned and there is a bunch sitting in Pret’. Others wearing XR badges and carrying XR flags were seen getting lunch in McDonald’s on Whitehall.
TV stars were at the environmental group’s ‘opening ceremony’ under Nelson’s Column as thousands closed major bridges, blocked numerous roads and even invaded The Mall during the Changing of the Guard where Rylance helped carry a giant banner saying: ‘extinction or rebellion’.
Lowe posed next to Big Ben with friends including actress Jaime Winstone, popstar Eliza Caird, best known as Eliza Doolittle, and TV producer Emily Ann Sonnet who said: ‘Life is already extinct. It’s just a matter of saving what life we have left’.
Ministers are understood to be looking at whether protesters who damage parts of London can be held financially responsible. In an Extinction Rebellion stunt last week, fake blood was sprayed over the Treasury – although much of it ended up going back over the demonstrators themselves.
One government source suggested a mechanism could be bringing a civil action to hurt demonstrators ‘in their wallets’. ‘There is discussion about whether we can ensure they are bearing the cost,’ the source said. ‘Democratic protests is one thing, but you cannot wreck listed buildings.’
However, actress Juliet Stevenson called the protests ‘wonderful’, adding: ‘We can’t any longer allow governments to do this so we have to make it clear that there is no more time.
‘There’s a long tradition in this country of people saying governments are not acting, we have to make them realise how urgent this is.’
She told MailOnline that said she had been swayed to join the protests as she wanted a future for the planet and her four children. She siad she felt a duty to do what she could to help stop environmental damage and climate change.
Stevenson said: ‘My children are saying they are not sure they want to have children when the planet is in such danger. I have a one-year-old grandchild too and I want to help ensure all of their futures.’ We have 12 years before the planet is irreversibly damaged. The scientists have warned about it.’
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