'We are no longer willing to stand by and watch life on earth be exterminated.'
An army of police officers descended on Parliament square this evening and began dragging away scores of climate change protesters.
More than 340 arrests have been made since Monday as the Extinction Rebellion’s week of disruption in London rumbles on.
Officers appear to have stepped up their efforts to keep protesters out of restricted areas, with large numbers marching to Westminster to make arrests.
Looks like #parliamentsquare is about to get cleared out #ExtinctionRebellion pic.twitter.com/GFGehs3e7N
— Woody Morris (@woodrowmorris) April 17, 2019
But spending the night in a cell doesn’t seem to bother activists, who are deliberately trying to get arrested in a bid to force the government to listen to their demands.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk reporter Lucy Middleton from Westminster, Shaun Chamberlin, 38 said: ‘We are no longer willing to stand by and watch life on earth be exterminated and accept that just waving banners and writing petitions and having them ignored is enough.
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‘I think our soul our conscience demands that we do more than that.’
Shaun says he is ‘immensely proud’ of his mum Rosalie, 68, a retired nurse who is sitting down on the pavement waiting in hope of being arrested for the first time.
‘She just feels, again, like she can’t in good conscience allow this ecocide society to continue on its current path.’
He compared the Extinction Rebellion’s movement to resistance against South Africa’s apartheid and British rule in India where ‘ordinary people saw other ordinary people being arrested’ and began to ask why.
‘In this case, the only thing they’re standing up for really is our right to have a future.’
Police start the walk from Millbank to Parliament Square to break up the #ExtinctionRebellion protest #London pic.twitter.com/AmgjNXd4WK
— Jack Hawke (@jack_hawke) April 17, 2019
The Met Police told Metro.co.uk it cannot say how many arrests have been made outside Parliament this evening as the situation is ongoing.
An order requiring demonstrators to stay away from Parliament Square was put in place today at 5.30pm this evening.
Similar restrictions have been put in place at Oxford Circus and Waterloo Bridge, with police trying to contain the peaceful protesters to the Marble Arch area.
Earlier today demonstrators glued themselves to the window of a DLR train at Canary Wharf while others glued themselves out of Jeremy Corbyn’s house to get the Labour party to step-up their efforts to tackle climate change.
People of all ages have taken part in the mass demonstrations in London (Picture: PA)
Protests have led to major road blockages and 55 London bus routes being closed affecting half a million people.
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The campaign group which is holding protests in major cities around the world this week apologised to commuters in advance but said ‘economic disruption’ is needed to force the Government to sit at the negotiating table.
While protests have mostly been peaceful, five people were arrested and released under investigation on Monday after Shell’s headquarters near Waterloo was vandalised.
If you have a story for our news team, email us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
