Extinction Rebellion London protests: Demonstrators block Oxford Circus as pink table re-erected
Follow live as activists gather in the capital
Extinction Rebellion protesters have descended on Oxford Circus, where they blocked traffic with a giant pink table, danced peacefully and heard speeches, as climate demonstrations in London continue.
Earlier, the environmental movement gathered outside the Brazilian embassy to protest deforestation and attacks on indigenous people on the third day of its Impossible Rebellion protests in the capital, due to last for two weeks.
XR is aiming to disrupt “business as usual” in London with its latest set of demonstrations as the climate crisis unfolds.
More than 100 people have been arrested since Sunday, the day before the start of the official action.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of Extinction Rebellion action in London.
Protests to go ahead in London
Protests are due to start shortly in London.
One is planned at Brazilian embassy between 10am and 11.30am, with XR calling it Global Day of Action for Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Rainforest.
The other protest - Courage Calls To Courage: Women and FINT Action - is due to start at 11.30am at Piccadilly Circus.
What is Extinction Rebellion?
The Impossible Rebellion is Extinction Rebellion’s first major action since its Autumn Rebellion in September last year.
Actions are planned across the next fortnight at St James Park, London Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, the Bank of England, outside the Brazilian Embassy and at other locations around the city.
But what actually is Extinction Rebellion and where did it come from?
Joanna Taylor takes a closer look:
Protesters to gather outside Brazilian embassy
Extinction Rebellion are set to gather outside the Brazilian embassy to protest the environmental destruction of the Amazon Rainforest and Brazil’s treatment of its indigenous people.
Protestors will gather from 10am to 11.30am outside the embassy in Cockspur Street in central London.
Extinction Rebellion protestors head to Brazil Embassy
What happened yesterday?
Today is the third official day of Extinction Rebellion’s latest round of protests.
On Tuesday, 40 more environmentalists were arrested as demonstrations continued in central London.
Activists were seen on the top of a van in Soho and staged a “die-in” demonstration in Westminster.
Catch-up on what happened yesterday with Holly Bancroft’s report:
40 arrested as Extinction Rebellion occupy parts of London’s West End
Brazil embassy protest
Activists have gathered outside Brazil’s embassy in London for a protest in support of Indigenous people in the Amazon.
See pictures here:
Does it matter how ‘green’ activists are?
A favourite line of attack against the environmental movement is charging members with hypocrisy.
Right-wing blog Guido Fawkes is among the outlets highlighting that one of Extinction Rebellion’s co-founders, Dr Gail Bradbrook, drives a diesel vehicle.
But does it matter exactly how ‘green’ individual activists are?
Harry Cockburn takes a look at the question:
Does it really matter how ‘green’ XR activists are?
Tory MP hits out at XR
A Tory MP has accused Extinction Rebellion of “putting people off” the cause of tackling the climate crisis with their actions.
Watch her comments here:
XR activists block oil refinery in the Netherlands
According to reports from The Netherlands, Extinction Rebellion campaigners briefly blocked roads leading to a Shell oil refinery near Rotterdam this morning.
Police arrested 12 activists after they closed roads leading to the Pernis facility, one of the largest refineries in Europe, preventing lorries from entering the site.
The Dutch branch of XR said their action was to demand the fossil fuel giant cut its emissions faster and warned they had other demonstrations planned throughout the week.
XR demonstrators praise ‘lighter touch’ policing at latest protests
The Independent’s Daniel Keane is reporting from the protest outside the Brazilian embassy.
One demonstrator, Rowena Fields, 66, was flying an XR flag and told him she had travelled down from York this morning to help highlight the “awful suffering” experienced by indigenous tribes in Brazil.
She said: “I’m here because I want to support indigenous people and highlight the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. This is my fourth XR protest. I think there’s a lighter touch here now compared to before, and it almost feels now the police are more sympathetic to our cause.”
“Some of the conversations I’ve had with them - it appears as if they feel like ‘this protest makes a lot of sense’. You can’t look at the IPCC report and not think: something urgent needs to happen.
“Our tactics are also different. They are more fluid and more dispersed.”
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