A man brought traffic to a standstill after gluing himself to London’s Tower Bridge as part of a series of ‘protest of one’ road blocks organised by Extinction Rebellion. Morgan Trowland, 38, glued himself to the famous landmark, prompting City of London Police to close it to southbound vehicles. Mr Trowland, a civil engineer from Hackney, east London, said: ‘I’m terrified that billions will die because of the climate crisis, humans and non-humans. ‘I’m freaking out that many people are accepting this, or feel powerless to change the course. I want to show onlookers that we each have phenomenal power.’ Blackfriars Bridge in London was also blocked by a man holding a placard reading: ‘I’m terrified billions will starve while our Government refuses to act on the climate crisis.’ There were also road blocks at Oxford Circus and Westminster Bridge. Hundreds of individual protests were held in towns and cities across the country, including Nottingham, Birmingham, Oxford, Bradford, Newcastle and Swansea. Extinction Rebellion encouraged its supporters to act because of the Government’s ‘lack of action on climate change.’ The stunts began at 11am – two years exactly since parliament declared a climate emergency.
Bing Jones, a 68-year-old retired NHS doctor, blocked a road in Sheffield. He said: ‘I’m terrified that our climate targets are empty promises. ‘We have targets for 2050 but we are still increasing emissions today. The Government has made inexcusable Covid mistakes. I’m terrified that they will be even worse on the climate crisis.’ He added: ‘I am desperate. I write, lobby and support green politics but see nothing real happening. ‘So I am sitting in the road today with a notice saying I am terrified. I am sorry to disrupt ordinary people but I do not know what else to do.’
Nurse Andrea Muntiu, 36, blocked traffic in her home town of Ipswich. She said: ‘People may wonder what a nurse is doing sitting in the road with a placard. They may wonder what impact this will have on my career or whether I’ll get in trouble with the police. ‘I am aware of the risks but I feel I have a moral duty to warn people about the catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis.’ XR said in a statement that despite its carbon-cutting targets – with Boris Johnson recently announcing plans to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 – the UK Government is moving too slowly. It cited multiple reports finding the UK will miss its targets unless ministers take rapid action.
Saturday’s protests coincided with a number of demonstrations against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The proposed legislation would give police in England and Wales more powers to impose conditions on non-violent protests – including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance, with those convicted liable to fines or jail terms. A Home Office spokesman said: ‘The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but over recent years we have seen an increase in the use of disruptive and dangerous tactics.’ He added: ‘These new measures will not stop people from carrying out their civic right to protest and be heard, but will prevent large scale disruption – enabling the silent majority to get on with their lives.’
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