Babak Belurs: Extinction Rebellion protests block Vauxhall and Lambeth bridges

Minggu, 10 April 2022

Extinction Rebellion protests block Vauxhall and Lambeth bridges - BBC

Police in the process of moving protesters from Lambeth Bridge

Extinction Rebellion climate change activists have staged protests in the centre of London for a second day, blocking Vauxhall and Lambeth bridges.

Hundreds of protesters prevented cars and buses crossing but ambulances were let through.

The Met Police said 38 arrests were made on Sunday and officers had now moved protesters from the bridges.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas earlier told the BBC the group's protests could sometimes be counterproductive.

But for some people, the rallies were the only way they felt heard, she said. The government has yet to comment.

During the earlier protests, campaigners sat in the road, waving flags and placards.

They were told by police officers there was evidence they were causing "serious disruption" to the public, warning them to leave or face arrest.

The Met said it imposed conditions under section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 to clear protesters from around Vauxhall Bridge and officers physically removed the last of the activists - with a number being taken away in police vans.

Doctors and nurses from a small group of medical workers who refused to leave Lambeth Bridge were among those arrested, Extinction Rebellion tweeted.

Earlier, one of the protesters - Kiri Ley, 21, a student from Birmingham - said the aim was to occupy the capital peacefully to try to force policy changes.

She said: "We tried all the other methods - we've written letters, we've marched, we've spoken to our MPs, we've done literally everything we can and time and time again we see them doing completely the opposite of what the scientific evidence says and this is what is left to us, really, we do it because we know it works."

Earlier, campaigners also spray painted red hands outside the London corporate offices of oilfield services company Schlumberger.

Ms Lucas said: "I am sorry that it has come to this and that this is the only way that people feel they can make their voices heard."

The activists have vowed to block areas of London "for as long as possible" every day for at least a week.

A protest in Oxford Circus on Saturday brought the West End to a standstill.

British Green Party MP Caroline Lucas appears on BBC Sunday Morning

Ms Lucas said: "Personally for example, if you are going to try and stop Tube trains moving around I think that is counterproductive.

"I think that being on the streets of London has been shown to be a way of capturing people's imaginations.

"People have joined those protests who have never protested before. They are doing it because they know we have to leave new fossil fuels in the ground.

"The International Energy Agency says that, the latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report says that, and yet this government and this energy strategy... is foreseeing getting out even more oil and gas from the North Sea, that is frankly immoral and the UN general secretary said that is frankly both morally and economically mad."