Home MOVIE NEWS More than 300 Extinction Rebellion protesters arrested in London ‘shut down’

More than 300 Extinction Rebellion protesters arrested in London ‘shut down’

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More than 300 Extinction Rebellion protesters arrested in London ‘shut down’

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Police have arrested 319 Extinction Rebellion protesters as the ‘shut down’ of central London by the climate change group continues.

Londoners are braced for a second day of travel chaos today with major roads and bridges closed.

Many of those who blocked Horseferry Road overnight were warned they will be arrested unless they move to nearby Trafalgar Square, as police seek to avoid a second day’s disruption which saw parts of central London virtually cut off to traffic.

Some activists camped overnight inside the Smithfield Market and reportedly held a minute’s silence for all the animals which had been butchered there over the years.

One activist in his twenties said: “They came round and told us that we should be moving on.

One man pulls a face as he is led away by police

A protester who glued himself to a door as part of an Extinction Rebellion (XR) protest

“I don’t think we are going to move on. It’s not a risk if you know you’re going to be arrested. It’s something I’ll do if I need to.

“We’ve got extremely good legal support and it’s a very well set-up organisation so I feel like I’ll be supported all through the way. An arrest doesn’t mean a conviction.”

Another young activist added that there was no pressure from the movement to protest in a particular way.

“Just because you’re being arrested doesn’t mean you do or don’t support Extinction Rebellion any more than the next person,” she said.

Protesters who have set up camp on Horseferry Road and Marsham Street in Westminster

Protesters are chained together as they block the road outside Westminster Abbey

“There are people within this group that support this group very much and they won’t be getting arrested, but they support everybody.”

Around 200 protesters are thought to have camped in tents overnight on Horseferry Road and the surrounding area.

Metropolitan Police officers have been deployed throughout the night across central London.

The force said: “There continues to be a 24 hour policing plan in place. As of 00:01hrs this morning there have been 319 arrests in relation to the Extinction Rebellion protests.”

There are expected to be more arrests today, possibly numbering in the hundreds again.

An Extinction Rebellion environmental activist couple getting married at an action site they are calling The Beacon on Westminster Bridge

Activists gather on Westminster Bridge

Last night Boris Johnson dismissed the protesters as “uncooperative crusties” who should abandon their “hemp-smelling bivouacs” and stop blocking roads.

Traders at Smithfield Market also expressed anger about cost to business from the protests.

James Burden said that missing one day of trade would cost the 31 meat companies “millions” of pounds collectively.

A protester does a live vlog at the Department for Transport

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One trader said: “It’s a joke. Vehicles can’t get in to collect the meat and it means we can’t serve as many of our customers. It will cost our business alone £10,000 in one night”.

There were fewer protesters than the 30,000 forecast yesterday but they set up roadblocks on Westminster and Lambeth Bridges, Victoria Street, Whitehall, Horse Guards Road and The Mall.

They plan to grind the city over the next fortnight.

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