https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-61029511
BBC
Tower Bridge has reopened after an Extinction Rebellion (XR) protest, that saw two activists dangling over the Thames.
The pair used suspension cords to hang from the landmark and unfurl a banner reading, “End fossil fuels now”.
Police closed the bridge to traffic during rush hour but cleared protesters by midday, arresting four people.
It comes after eight days of disruption at oil facilities caused by XR and the Just Stop Oil coalition.
Both groups are calling for an end to all new fossil fuel infrastructure as the government reviews its energy security in the wake of the Ukraine war.
ITV
Amy Rugg-Easey, who is taking part in the demonstration, said: “I ask myself why I do these things all the time, and the main thing that drives me is that I have tremendous hope and optimism in humanity’s ability to fight the climate crisis – but there are certain people who continue to prevent that for their own profit.”
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Explainer:
Extinction Rebellion is a protest group that puts “civil disobedience” at the heart of seeking government action on its aims.
Extinction Rebellion said: “We promote civil disobedience and rebellion because we think it is necessary. We are asking people to find their courage and to collectively do what is necessary to bring about change.
Events:
Extinction Rebellion have planned events through London from the 9 April to 17 April.
I
Amy Rugg-Easey, who is taking part in the demonstration, said: “I ask myself why I do these things all the time, and the main thing that drives me is that I have tremendous hope and optimism in humanity’s ability to fight the climate crisis – but there are certain people who continue to prevent that for their own profit.”
Events schedule
Criticism
Sadiq Khan has said climate activists must “win over public opinion” as he accused Extinction Rebellion of being “counterproductive” following disruption on Friday morning.
The Guardian
XR organisers are hoping a new strategy will enable them to evade police and again cause major disruption in London. Attempts to take and hold road junctions with large pieces of protest infrastructure, which police had learned to quickly isolate and remove, will be swapped for more mobile and adaptable blockades.
“We are not going to be coming in with huge objects necessarily, but the plan is to get lots of people to hold areas using their bodies, staying in roads and holding spaces,” said an XR source. “We are going to try to be really mobile as well.”
There would be “people moving around and trying to hold the space, holding spaces that are particularly disruptive and doing direct actions … We want to be movable so we can go to different areas if we want to. We want to be super-mobile and hard to pin down, but we also want it to be really inclusive, easy to find and get involved.”
On Thursday morning Juliette Brown, a 51-year-old psychiatrist from London who was sat in the road by St James’s Park outside the government department, said: “We know that the climate and ecological crisis is a health crisis. Global warming [and] air pollution are largely driven by the burning of fossil fuels.
“The government declared a climate emergency, yet they are still considering licensing new oil and gas fields [and] financing fossil fuels through tax breaks despite the clear evidence and advice from experts that we need to end all new fossil fuel investment immediately.”
The Telegraph
Alex Ede, 28, whose commute to work was disrupted by the protest, said: “I think their cause is a good one but the way they go about it can be very distressful, especially for the general public.”
“I’ve heard that someone’s hanging off the bridge – so, yes, I think the police had to close the bridge if someone’s life was in danger.”
Amy Rugg-Easey, who took part in the demonstration, said: “I ask myself why I do these things all the time, and the main thing that drives me is that I have tremendous hope and optimism in humanity’s ability to fight the climate crisis – but there are certain people who continue to prevent that for their own profit.”
https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/surrey-extinction-rebellion-supporters-hang-23642172
Get Surrey
Roger Lockey, aged 66 and a retired builder and property maintenance specialist from Reigate, said: “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released this week tells all of us in no uncertain terms that we are in deep trouble, and that we need to stop burning fossil fuels now to have any chance of avoiding the worst of the climate crisis we have been facing for the last thirty years.
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