Multiple demonstrations are getting underway across the country this weekend as environmental campaign group Extinction Rebellion gears up for a new ‘uprising’.
Various stunts including a ‘funeral march’ in Lewes, East Sussex, and a fancy dress tea party at Gatwick Airport are scheduled.
Extinction Rebellion says the activities over the August bank holiday weekend are a precursor to larger protests taking place from Tuesday.
The group is targeting other UK airports in an attempt to avoid the aviation industry’s return to ‘business as usual’ which it says is one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis.
Groups are already gathering near Stansted, Luton and Leeds Bradford airports in protest against planned expansions.
A march named ‘Procession for the Planet’ is underway in Lewes, featuring black-clad mourners and a jazz band ‘to mark the death and destruction wrought by humans on our natural world’.
Activists in Brighton are planning an ‘epic voyage of rebellion’ in which they will march from the seafront to London with a ‘Lightship’ named after climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Extinction Rebellion protesters on Lewes High Street in East Sussex, carry out a ‘funeral march’ as part of UK-wide protests
A march named ‘Procession for the Planet’ is underway in Lewes, featuring black-clad mourners and a jazz band ‘to mark the death and destruction wrought by humans on our natural world’ as Extinction Rebellion activists warn of Bank Holiday bedlam
Protesters from Extinction Rebellion take part in a ‘Procession for the Planet’ through the streets of Lewes this afternoon
The weather wasn’t enough to deter the demonstration in Lewes as activists carried out a funeral march through the town
Protesters from Extinction Rebellion take part in a ‘Procession for the Planet’ through the streets of Lewes, East Sussex today
Extinction Rebellion has urged demonstration participants to try and adhere to social distancing measures while protesting
Extinction Rebellion activists ‘mourn’ the impending death of the world due to global warming in Lewes, East Sussex
Meanwhile in Leeds, a group of XR activists gathered in the city centre to demonstrate against the expansion of Leeds Bradford airport in a protest dubbed ‘Ride the Noise’.
Pictures show a handful of cyclists donning masks with the XR branding on as well as other demonstrators holding banners and signs.
In London parents have been invited to take their children for a ‘Feed and Play-in’ outside the Bank of England to protest against fossil fuel bailouts, and similar demonstrations are due to take place in Oxford, Cardiff, Leicester and York.
Extinction Rebellion was responsible for two weeks of protests last summer, which saw a shutdown of much of central London.
Protests this weekend are due to include roadblocks, marches, sit-ins, bike rides and picnics, with organisers emphasising their ethos of ‘non-violent direct action’.
Extinction Rebellion protesters in Leeds city centre, ahead of their ‘Ride the Noise’ protest against the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport, as a weekend of Extinction Rebellion action begins across the country
Cyclists gathered in Leeds City Centre and road to Leeds Bradford Airport to protest against its expansion in move dubbed ‘Ride the Noise’ as one of the first Extinction Rebellion protests to get underway on Bank Holiday Saturday
As part of nationwide demonstrations this weekend, protesters gathered in Leeds to campaign against airport expansion
Red Brigade of Extinction Rebellion hold vigil for environment at Wells Cathedral, Somerset, as part of nationwide protests
The vigil took place this afternoon from 11am as ten demonstrators dressed in red put on a theatrical performance in Wells
In Somerset, demonstrators donned red outfits from head to toe and put on a theatrical performance outside Wells Cathedral as part of a ‘vigil for the Environment’ which everyone was invited to attend.
The demonstrations will risk breaching social-distancing guidelines, although XR said it will be ‘pushing very hard’ for all participants to obey Government rules.
Yesterday, campaigners unfurled banners against oil and gas company Shell on Westminster Bridge in London, while some targeted Trinity College in Cambridge and spray-painted hand silhouettes on the college’s walls.
Others staged a protest against fossil fuels outside the Shell building in London.
Meanwhile, parliament’s online security body has warned Extinction Rebellion could try to target officials working for parliamentary committees to access social media accounts.
In an email entitled Cyber Security Threat This Weekend, Parliamentary Digital Service’s cyber security team warned them to update and strengthen passwords and check official accounts over the bank holiday weekend for any ‘suspicious activity’, the Guido Fawkes blog reported.
Extinction Rebellion, whose protests brought parts of London and other cities to a halt last year, has said it is restarting mass demonstrations this week having paused them earlier in the year due to the coronavirus.
Campaigners from Extinction Rebellion unfurl banners against oil and gas company Shell on Westminster Bridge
Extinction Rebellion protesters outside the Shell building in London demonstrating against the oil and fossil fuels company
Several arrests were made in Cambridge yesterday after protesters spray painted hands on university buildings including Trinity College. One, left, wore a green ensemble as she campaigned for more environmental policies
Protester laying on the grass with the spray-painted hands seen on a university building as police stood and kneeled nearby
XR activists seen marching on the Southbank during a protest as they call on UK government to scrap high speed rail project
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on travel, protesters are encouraged to take action locally with the aviation sector, banks, the fossil fuel industry and petrol stations as targets.
The protests are being held ahead of larger-scale demonstrations planned for London, Manchester and Cardiff on September 1.
Protests this weekend are expected to include roadblocks, marches, sit-ins, bike rides and picnics, with campaigners emphasising their ethos of ‘non-violent direct action’.
XR supporters will also be encouraged to protest digitally, and urged to phone their MPs and ‘institutions of power’.
Anneka Sutcliffe, from XR Actions Circle, said a ‘few thousand’ people had indicated on Facebook they would join the London events, but numbers were expected to be lower than at demonstrations held in October.
Converging marches will start from Tate Britain, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral and Smithfield Market.
Other protests will include a roadblock on Prince Street Bridge in Bristol, a mass bike ride from Brighton to London, banner drops and rallies against the expansion of Luton Airport and the aviation industry at Gatwick Airport.
Avon and Somerset Police said the Clifton Suspension Bridge would close from midnight on Thursday because of the Bristol protest, and could be shut until 6am on Tuesday at the earliest.