Police end Extinction Rebellion’s party in Marble Arch as they seize soundsystem after eco-warriors’ ‘die-in’ protest in Natural History Museum
POLICE finally ended the Extinction Rebellion party in Marble Arch last night after they seized a soundsystem following the group's "die-in" protest.
Officers stormed the eco-warrior's camp and created a cordon around their stage before removing sound equipment.
Cops had previously killed the main power supply to the camp - finally bringing an end to their party near Hyde Park.
It came just hours after a huge group of protesters lay down underneath the famous blue whale skeleton in the middle of the Natural History Museum.
Extinction Rebellion describes itself as a non-violent direct action and civil disobedience group and has held London in its grip since last Monday with various protests.
Cops have said the group is planning a demonstration in Westminster on Tuesday as MPs return from the Easter break.
'PUTTING A STRAIN ON US'
Yesterday, the group asked people to join the "family friendly afternoon of peaceful protest" in the South Kensington museum, before heading to Hyde Park.
They wrote on Facebook: "Please arrive at 1:30 for a 2pm start, we will not do a shout out nor gather in large groups but instead will all synchronise our watches and fall together at 2pm sharp in Central Hall (if you do arrive late, don't be shy and just fall by our side)."
Dramatic photos show them laying down and staying silent for 20-25 minutes, as baffled families not involved in the protest attempted to carry on with their day out.
Eco -arriors have demanded that the Government declares a climate emergency - they want politicians to take urgent action on climate change and wildlife declines.
Please arrive at 1:30 for a 2pm start, we will not do a shout out nor gather in large groups but instead will all synchronise our watches and fall together at 2pm sharp in Central Hall
Extinction Rebellion
In particular, it wants the UK to reduce its carbon emissions to "zero by 2025" and do more to "remove the excess of atmospheric greenhouse gases".
On Monday, April 15, the environment "rebels" launched a range of attention-grabbing tactics to gain headlines, and prompt politicians into taking action to "avoid irreversible climate change and ecological collapse", and they vowed to keep going for two weeks.
The activists have brought parts of busy London to a standstill with widespread demonstrations.
Olympic gold medallist Etienne Stott was one of the eco-warriors arrested on Waterloo Bridge last night as cops cleared the rebels.
The Met said it had cancelled officers' rest days and leave over the Easter weekend in order to deal with the disruption, as well as violent crime.
Cops had been criticised over their failure to stop the illegal protest last week with activists blocking Waterloo Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge, Oxford Circus and Parliament Square.
Sajid Javid also came under fire for failing to reclaim streets from the eco-extremsists.
Tory MPs turned their anger on the Home Secretary over how cops were often standing by while protesters continued to barricade major roads in central London.
'NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT'
Government aide Huw Merriman MP branded the scenes “a national embarrassment”.
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Commons aide added: “The Commissioner needs to take a zero tolerance approach, arrest the lawbreakers and bring law and order back to our streets to get the traffic, and economy, moving again”.
But Dame Emma Thompson blamed police for "wasting taxpayers' money" by trying to tackle the protests.
The Oscar-winning actress, 60, defended the illegal demonstrations at sites like Oxford Circus - where she joined protesters on a pink boat blocking traffic on the busy shopping street.
She said: "It's not like we are burning things down. The police turned up because they have been asked to turn up.
"They decided to spend their money in this way, which I personally think is a waste of taxpayers' money.
"We aren't doing anything violent."
Sir David shows the way
SIR David Attenborough was hailed for his TV climate change call to arms this week, with viewers calling it the real way to make people notice.
Fans said Thursday’s passionate BBC show, Climate Change — The Facts, did more than Extinction Rebellion’s disruptive protests.
The show, watched by 3.34 million people, outlined the crisis facing the planet using the quiet authority of Sir David, 92, left.
Independent MP Anna Soubry wrote online: “This is how you win change — by making the argument based on evidence, not clogging up our great capital #London.”
Sir David told viewers: “In the 20 years since I first started talking about the impact of climate change, conditions have changed far faster than I ever imagined.
“It may sound frightening, but the scientific evidence is that without dramatic action, we could face irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies.”
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