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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Tom Batchelor, Tom Barnes

Extinction Rebellion protest - live: Climate change activists glue themselves to fence outside Corbyn's house

Campaigners climbed on top of a train and glued themselves to the roof during a third day of climate change protests, which have caused serious disruption in London.

Two Extinction Rebellion demonstrators clambered aboard the carriage of a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in east London at around 11am on Wednesday.

Later in the day protesters gathered outside the north London home of Jeremy Corbyn. One of the demonstrators chained herself to the leader of the Opposition's garden fence with a bike lock.

More than 300 protesters have already been arrested this week following protests across central London.

Activists are demanding the government declare a climate emergency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025.

Read below for the day's developments, as they happened.

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage as climate change activists attempt to disrupt the London Underground network.
 
The protest group Extinction Rebellion says it plans to stage a demonstration on the Tube on Wednesday in a bid to spur the government into tackling the “ecological emergency”.
 
British Transport Police says it is stepping up patrols across stations in the capital, adding officers will not tolerate any activity which disrupts services for the millions of commuters who use London Underground every day.
 Here's more on exactly what protesters are planning today and what they hope to achieve as a result of the demonstrations.
 
 
British Transport Police say they are preparing for disruption caused by protests due to take place on the Tube today.
 
“Over the next few days a large number of additional officers will be on patrol to help facilitate what we hope is a safe and peaceful protest,” superintendent Matt Allingham said.
 
“However, we will not tolerate any activity which disrupts the millions of passengers who rely on using the rail network in London.
 
“During the next 24 hours, these intelligence-led patrols will be in place to help keep everyone safe and to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum.”
Meanwhile, police have also shut down wifi services across the London Underground network as part of the attempt to curtail any potential protests.
 
A British Transport Police spokesperson said the move had been taken “in the interests of safety and to prevent and deter serious disruption”. 
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says he was “extremely concerned” about the potential for disruption on the Tube today.
 
In a statement, Mr Khan said any action by climate change protesters on the Underground would put passengers’ safety at risk.
 
“It is absolutely crucial to get more people using public transport, as well as walking and cycling, if we are to tackle this climate emergency – and millions of Londoners depend on the Underground network to get about their daily lives in our city,” he said.
 
“Targeting public transport in this way would only damage the cause of all of us who want to tackle climate change, as well as risking Londoners’ safety and I’d implore anyone considering doing so to think again.”
Protester and climate lawyer Farhana Yamin, who was arrested on Tuesday, has been speaking ahead of today’s planned demonstrations.
 
“I totally want to apologise to people using public transport,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
 
“But at the same time we need to take actions that are disruptive so everyone understands the dangers we’re facing right now.
 
“I’m not someone who goes out on to the streets and disrupts and gets arrested for no reason at all - but I feel people should understand that we are at a critical moment in our humanity's history.”

Wifi shut down to ‘deter serious disruption’

More on the police decision to turn off wifi services on the Tube this morning - which has supposedly been taken in an attempt to hinder protests.
 
British Transport Police said it restricted internet connectivity across the Underground network. “in the interests of safety and to prevent and deter serious disruption”.
 
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and we would like to assure passengers that this decision is not taken lightly and will be reviewed throughout the day,” BTP said in a statement.
 
“The force continues to work closely with Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police Service in keeping disruption to a minimum.”
 
For those outside London, or those who have never used the service, wifi is apparently available in ticket halls, walkways and platforms at 260 London Underground stations across the capital.
 
The New West End Company, which represents around 600 retailers, restaurants and hotels in the West End, estimates its members have lost £12m in sales while Extinction Rebellion protests have been taking place.
 
Businesses have seen an average 25 per cent reduction in footfall during the demonstrations, the organisation said.
 
“This additional pressure is deeply damaging to London’s economy and reputation,” said Jace Tyrrell, New West End Company chief executive.

Nothing new about Tube disruption 

No need for demonstrations, there’s plenty of disruption on London Underground this morning without the help of climate change protesters. 
 
Signal failure at Monument station is causing delays on the Circle, District and Hammersmith and City lines.

Breaking: Climate change protesters climb on top of DLR train at Canary Wharf

Two activists have climbed onto the roof of a train at Canary Wharf’s Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station.
 
A man dressed in a dark suit and a woman wearing a black coat stood on the roof of a train in the station holding a banner reading “Climate Emergency. Act Now.”
 
A man wearing a high-visibility vest appears to have glued himself to the side of a carriage, although this has not been confirmed.
 
Canary Wharf is of course one of UK’s main financial centres. However, the DLR mainly serves Tower Hamlets and Newham – two of London’s most deprived boroughs. 

Protesters disrupt DLR train at Canary Wharf

The first pictures of the protest on the Docklands Light Railway are beginning to feed through from Canary Wharf station, where protesters have climbed on top of a train. 

Police are on the scene at the station, where the incident is currently causing minor delays to DLR service.
There is some suggestion a protester has glued himself to the exterior of the train in order to disrupt the service, although this is currently unconfirmed.
Transport for London (TfL) is warning of disruption to DLR services through the line's Twitter account.
 
The transport authority is blaming what it describes as a “customer incident” for any delays.
Extinction Rebellion is also suggesting one of the protesters has glued himself to the disrupted DLR train at Canary Wharf station.
 
In a post on Twitter, the group said the station has been targeted as the area is home to “the city’s financial hub”.

Glued protester removed from train by police

The protester glued to the DLR train has been removed by police. Two activists remain on the roof of the carriage.
The British Transport Police have released a statement on the Extinction Rebellion demonstration currently taking place at Canary Wharf station.
 
“At 10.50am officers were called to Canary Wharf DLR station after reports of protesters obstructing a DLR train in the station platforms,” the force said.
 
“Units are in the process of responding, including specialist teams trained in protest removal. Officers continue to remind passengers to check with Transport for London before travelling.”

Climate change protest arrests pass 300 mark

The Metropolitan Police say they have now arrested more than 300 people since the start of the Extinction Rebellion protests on Monday.
 
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the force also announced it was in the process of moving the large amount of demonstrators on Waterloo Bridge.
 
It added those who do not comply may also be arrested.
Having removed a protester who glued himself to a Docklands Light Railway train at Canary Wharf station in east London, police are now in the process of removing two other activists who are sitting on top of the carriage roof.
Climate protesters climbed on a DLR train (Reuters)
 

‘Incompetent, middle class, self-indulgent people’

Sky News presenter Adam Boulton was involved in a heated exchange with Extinction Rebellion campaign coordinator Robin Boardman during an interview this morning.
 
Boulton accused the group of being “incompetent, middle class, self-indulgent people” and of sounding like “right-wing fascists” over their demands the government introduce certain measures to combat climate change.
 
His line of questioning caused Mr Boardman to storm off the programme.
 
Extinction Rebellion are now reporting police have made arrests at Waterloo Bridge, where they were attempting to disperse protesters.
 
The Metropolitan Police had warned earlier in the day officers would arrest demonstrators who refused to be moved on.
Extinction Rebellion say police are beginning to move in - and presumably make arrests - at Oxford Circus, one of their main protest sites. 


 

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