Extinction Rebellion protests have continued to cause mayhem across the country.
Comments made by Roger Hallam, a British co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, have sparked fury after he suggested that MPs and business owners “should have a bullet through their heads”. He criticised the people “who run society”, saying they were “culpable” for the climate “catastrophe”.
In response, Tory MP Matt Vickers said that Mr Hallam’s comments were “outrageous” and that the organisation had been “hijacked” by people “behaving like thugs and getting arrested”. He added: “They do not stand for the majority of Britons, who are about climate change. There are lots of big businesses doing a lot to help the environment. It’s not the way to go about it.”
A spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion said: “These comments were made in an interview with a freelance journalist over a year ago and as we have previously said Roger Hallam no longer holds a formal role in Extinction Rebellion. His views are his own.”
This week has seen protests across the country by Extinction Rebellion due to the Government’s “lack of action”. The environmental activists said the Government had not done enough to reach their “inadequate targets”. They say the protests are to ensure politicians take the issue seriously.
The protests have seen a large number of arrests, with 160 activists arrested on Tuesday and a further 72 on Wednesday, according to the Metropolitan Police.
Activists have jumped barriers and run past armed officers to glue themselves to the ground, blocking two entrances to Parliament. Extinction Rebellion said their aim was to stop politicians from “causing more harm”.
They continued: “Over a year on from Parliament’s declaration of a climate and environment emergency, the Government’s own advisors have said they are neglecting their own inadequate targets. With only four of 21 indicators on track and only two of 31 milestones reached, we will not be bystanders.”
Some activists were arrested for attempting to block Boris Johnson’s route to Parliament by lying in the road, whilst others blocked off bridges leading to St Thomas’ Hospital, causing an ambulance, on an emergency call, to become temporarily stuck in traffic with no way through.
BREAKING: Extinction Rebellion protest blocking NHS ambulance. pic.twitter.com/FpEhHq99c0
— Tom Harwood (@tomhfh) September 3, 2020
Cardiff has also seen disruption this week as Extinction Rebellion tried to storm the new BBC building, with some activists managing to glue their hands to the building. It comes after they had successfully blocked Bute Terrace in both directions, causing traffic delays around the city.
This is a recurring tactic used by Extinction Rebellion, with last year seeing one man successfully glue himself to a train and another manage to climb on top of a British Airways plane.
