Protests by the Extinction Rebellion group are due to enter their second week in London and across many major cities in Europe and around the world.
The first week of protests and demonstrations by the group has seen over 1,200 protestors arrested, and disruption caused to London’s roads. Some protestors set up tents on roads and pavements while others blocked access to Westminster bridge.
Another group of the protestors blocked the BBC’s headquarters in central London and some activists tried to glue their hands to the building in an attempt to force the BBC to declare a climate emergency. Demonstrations have also taken place outside government buildings and at London City Airport, where Paralympic bronze medallist James Brown climbed on top of a plane as part of the protests before he was arrested.
Organisers of the protests say that protesters are willing to be arrested for their cause.
Hundreds of police officers from across England and Wales are being drafted in to help deal with the protests in the capital. On this week’s @speakerpolitics podcast, we spoke Green Party activist, Tom Pashby who told us that the organisers are aiming to fill the prisons and use up police resources, in the hope that this will make the government take new actions on dealing with climate change.
Tom Pashby also told us how some people have taken leave from their jobs in order to support the protests. To listen to the full interview, search for our podcast on your favourite podcast app or click here.
