Police swing batons during the XR | bus blockade on London Bridge Extinction Rebellion


[ad_1]

Police in London brandished clubs and beat protesters in the Extinction Rebellion as they battled to gain control of an open top bus that was blocking London Bridge on Tuesday.

On the ninth day of XR’s recent protest campaign, the Guardian watched Metropolitan Police officers get on the side of the bus parked over the intersection south of the bridge and fight with protesters.

At one point in hand-to-hand combat, an officer appeared to hit a colleague who was getting on the bus. Inside, officials appeared to headlock and beat a protester.

Paul Stephens, a retired detective sergeant with the Met who is now an Extinction Rebellion police liaison, described the Met’s actions as “a horrific example of policing”. “Apparently they have orders to use force against demonstrators who want to protest peacefully on the streets,” he said.

A window on the bus was smashed when police managed to climb on board and gain control. Gail Bradbrook, the co-founder of XR who marched with the protest, said, “What we saw of the Met police was broken glass when people were around, and the use of clubs and violence. I saw someone in a headlock, people were thrown around. It was an act of aggression in the face of peaceful civil disobedience.

“The question arises as to what instructions these officers received this morning.”

Pulling clubs at XR protesters marked an obvious change in the Met’s approach to the group. During previous XR campaigns, often involving roadblocks and peaceful civil disobedience, officials have progressively cleared blockades, carefully removing protesters from barricades and transporting them away.

“It’s the police who commit senseless violence when they’re supposed to protect us,” said an XR supporter at the scene, 66-year-old Carol Jones from Southport.

Protesters stayed near the bus for several hours after the riot, while the officers involved appeared relieved and replaced. At 4 p.m., the Met issued a Section 14 order calling for an immediate end to the protest. Protesters moved on, following a samba band down Borough High Street and west along Southwark Street. A number of activists stayed on the bus and trapped underneath.

A Met statement said the use of force was “appropriate and proportionate” as the demonstration was “an attempt to disrupt one of the busiest bridges in London”. They added that 43 arrests were made.

The uproar came after XR protesters gathered at City Hall before starting a march across London Bridge. This week the protest group said it would target the nearby City of London financial district as a way of bringing home its main call for an immediate end to investment in new fossil fuel projects.

Siân Berry, a member of the London Parliament of the Greens and a candidate for London mayor who briefly joined the march, said: “When it comes to driving the extinction that everyone worries about, it is the continued investment in fossil fuels [that’s the problem], and the city must improve its ways as quickly as possible. “

Also on Tuesday, a so-called “stroller rebellion” began in Parliament Square, while an XR Families group was supposed to meet in St. Paul’s Cathedral to “bring in and feed in”. In the afternoon, activists gathered outside the Bank of England to discuss a recent Unicef ​​report on the impact of the climate crisis on children.

Previously, around 50 vegan environmental activists from the Animal Rebellion group blocked Arla’s milk distribution center in Buckinghamshire and called for a transition to a plant-based food system.

A dozen other XR Youth Solidarity activists occupied WWF headquarters in Woking to protest conservation activities that they believe led to the persecution and displacement of indigenous peoples in Tanzania, Cameroon and Kenya.

A spokesman for the XR Youth Solidarity cast said they had been threatened with arrest but were trying to negotiate with WWF. “Hours ago [they] said they will contact WWF Tanzania and WWF Kenya to see what they can do about the claims, but we haven’t heard from them in a while, “he said.

A WWF spokesman called the cast disappointing and added: “We share the same ambition to protect our world, combat climate change and ensure a future in which humans and nature can thrive.”

[ad_2]

About Nina Snider

Check Also

Thousands are demanding the return of free early London travel for over-60s

The benefit – granted to around 1.3million people over 60 – was suspended for weekday …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.