Nine people were arrested in London on Saturday after climate activists glued themselves to bridges as part of a wave of individual protests organised by Extinction Rebellion (XR). The demonstrations, described as a 'rebellion of one', involved hundreds of activists blocking roads by sitting alone wearing signs expressing their fears about the climate crisis.
Police closed Tower Bridge to southbound traffic after Morgan Trowland, a 38-year-old civil engineer from Hackney, attached himself to the crossing. Trowland told PA Media: 'I’m terrified that billions will die because of the climate crisis, humans and non-humans. I’m freaking out that many people are accepting this, or feel powerless to change the course.'
Protests also took place in Nottingham, Birmingham, Oxford, Bradford, Newcastle and Swansea. In Nottingham, a protester blocked a street while wearing a sandwich board reading: 'I’m terrified by the horrors that my son will have to endure because of the climate crisis.'
The nine arrests in London occurred on Tower Bridge, Westminster Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, and in Clapham, Haringey, Bromley, Tower Hamlets and Lambeth. XR said the government was moving too slowly on cutting emissions, citing reports that the UK will miss its targets unless ministers take immediate action.
The protests coincided with more than 40 demonstrations against the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, which would expand police powers to curb protests deemed too noisy or a nuisance. A Home Office spokesperson said the right to protest is a cornerstone of democracy, but new measures are needed to prevent large-scale disruption.
