Over 100 people arrested at London climate change protests

At least 100 people have been arrested in ongoing climate change protests in London that brought parts of the British capital to a standstill.

Demonstrators started blocking off a bridge and major central road junctions on Monday at the start of a civil disobedience campaign that also saw action in other parts of Europe. The protests were organised by the campaign group Extinction Rebellion, which was established last year in Britain by academics and has become one of the world’s fastest-growing environmental movements.

London’s Metropolitan Police said that by early Tuesday 113 adults had been arrested. The figure includes three men and two women who were arrested at the UK offices of energy giant Royal Dutch Shell on suspicion of criminal damage.

Campaigners daubed graffiti and smashed a window at the Shell Centre building. The majority arrested were seized for breaching public order laws and obstructing a highway.

The protest saw more than a thousand people block off central London’s Waterloo Bridge and lay trees in pots along its length. Later, people set up camps in Hyde Park in preparation for further demonstrations throughout the week.




Linda Ikeji.