Extinction Rebellion threatens Westminster shutdown
Climate campaigners Extinction Rebellion will block “every single road” around Westminster for at least two weeks from 7 October, it said today.
The group, which shut down parts of central London earlier this year, announced the action as a UN climate conference kicks off in New York. It will demand government departments reveal how they are planning to deal with a climate emergency.
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“Business as usual is destroying our planet’s capacity to sustain life; humanity faces a growing risk of societal collapse in 10 to 20 years due to mass starvation, migration and war,” said Sarah Lunnon, from the UK wing of the group.
The group’s latest action comes as part of a global movement, promising protests in 60 cities worldwide, including Cape Town, New Delhi and New York.
Over 1,000 people were arrested in April as Extinction Rebellion’s protesters took to the streets at four sites in London.
Now it is targeting 11 spots in the Westminster area. The protesters will demand that London’s largest meat market, Smithfield market, be turned into a vegan market.
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The group has promised to build a garden city outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The protesters plans an alternative Queen’s speech which will be written by so-called emergency peoples’ assemblies.
The Met Police promised a “proportional policing plan will be in place” but declined to comment further when contacted by CityAM
More to follow.
Main image credit: Getty