Police must be more assertive in dealing with any future climate change protests in London, Scotland Yard chief Cressida Dick accepted today.
The Met Commissioner said Extinction Rebellion, which organised the demonstrations last month, came in “larger numbers than we expected” and used new tactics “well beyond anything we had seen before”.
Thousands of protesters brought parts of central London to a standstill when they blocked roads on Parliament Square, Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and Marble Arch for 11 days. Traders said they lost £12 million in business.
Ms Dick told the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee today that the protests led to £7.5 million in extra policing costs, including overtime and equipment such as barriers and a cherry-picker used to get activists down from trees in Parliament Square.
She said there were a total of 1,200 arrests — including 89 people who were arrested more than once — and that 70 people were charged.
At one point she had considered “doubling up” cells to fit everyone into custody suites.
Ms Dick admitted that police should have responded more quickly to the protests, adding: “We will have to be very fast and assertive next time.”
But she also raised the question of whether there should be tougher laws to deter such demonstrations, pointing out that although they caused major disruption the offences committed were not serious and “therefore the deterrent is not significant”.
Ms Dick said that although police needed to change their tactics, officers had to stay within the law and could not used excessive force against largely peaceful demonstrators.
She added that officers seen skateboarding and dancing with activists were “not professional” and “have been advised”.
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