Protesters block the road outside the Energy Intelligence Forum venue.
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Three days of disruptive climate protest are taking place outside the Energy Intelligence Forum on Park Lane, which is scheduled to finish on Thursday evening.
Some Londoners have taken to social media to complain about the disruption they’re facing because of the protests.
Were you there then? Now it’s 14 arrests but tell me how many clowns were there in total? Plenty of us chose to use roads, it’s actually what they were built for, and no one has the right to block the carriageway. It’s illegal you know
Many protesters outside the event argue a climate crisis is a bigger problem than the disruption protests cause to people attempting to travel around London.
One protester had this to say to commuters who might be delayed as a result of protests:
“Every day there are over five million people trying to get to work in London and we disrupt them because most of them do not understand the importance of this absolutely iniquitous subject,” Nick said.
John, wearing a black boiler suit and carrying an oil can, had more choice words for those complaining about disruption:
“We’re f****d basically, if we don’t get this sorted we’re running out of time and, yeah, if it means your day is messed up slightly, then I’m sorry, but we’ve got to do it”.
John thinks that the importance of their message means disruption is not only necessary, but important. Credit: James Tillotson/City News
When asked about the action disrupting some Londoners, one Extinction Rebellion member said: “Are we being disruptive here?
“I’d like to think we are, but we’re not stopping people from going about their daily lives, are we? Buses [and] taxis can still get through but at the end of the day what really matters is that we are in a mess”.
On Tuesday, over 20 protesters were detained for obstructing traffic by gluing themselves to the road which prevented any vehicles from getting through.
Protesters highly aware of risks they face
While supporting disruptive protests, many raise the risks
Despite favouring disruptive protests, many raise the risks they face by participating in them.
One activist, who goes by the alias “Krill”, and is a scientist with Extinction Rebellion, said she carries a burner phone at events where there is a risk of arrests.
Krill said if a protester gets arrested with their usual phone, the police can hold it for up to six months, and will also use it to access protest communications on the secure messaging app Signal.
She says she does not take measures to protect herself but to protect those in her network, some of whom do not have British citizenship and risk deportation if arrested.
One protester said it’s key they make an impact while “we still have the right to protest”, referring to changes in UK law implicating rights to noisy and disruptive protest.
Caroline Lucas MP addressed protesters outside the conference. Credit: James Tillotson/City News
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, who attended the protest and addressed the crowd, told City News:
“The power of disruptive protests is getting things higher up the political agenda, its building momentum, it’s demonstrating that people really care about this stuff and its one element of making change happen.”
“We need that momentum on the streets… that’s why I think peaceful direct protest like this has such an important role to play,” she said.
Londoners have been visibly airing their objections on social media.
Disruptive action has made headlines and fuelled debate with Just Stop Oil staging protests on infrastructure and events, from motorways to a performance of Les Miserables on a West End stage.
The best protest we can do is emailing your local MP. If that doesn't work, then don't vote them in! The disruption caused lately hasn't really made a difference. Focus on changing the attitudes peacefully,rather than annoying joe public!
Protesters outside the Energy Intelligence Forum believe disruptive protest is important to gain wider attention for the causes they are championing. But, Londoners opposed to the tactics are proving equally as vocal.
This is a developing story, we will bring you more details as they come. Please refresh the page to update.
Headline“We disrupt people trying to get to work in London… because most of them do not understand”
Short HeadlineDisruptive climate protests hit London again
StandfirstLondon's debate on disruptive protest has kicked off again as activists descend on an international oil conference in Westminster.
Published Article
HeadlineThree-day disruptive climate protests hit central London
Short HeadlineDisruptive climate protests hit London again
StandfirstActivists have staged a series of protest outside a Park Lane hotel, where an energy sector conference is taking place.
City News speaks to those at the climate protest Credit: James Tillotson
Three days of disruptive climate protest are taking place outside the Energy Intelligence Forum on Park Lane, which is set to finish on Thursday evening.
Some Londoners have taken to social media to complain about the disruption they’re facing because of the protests. This comes as the Metropolitan Police announce that 26 people have been charged for blocking roads near the conference on Tuesday.
Were you there then? Now it’s 14 arrests but tell me how many clowns were there in total? Plenty of us chose to use roads, it’s actually what they were built for, and no one has the right to block the carriageway. It’s illegal you know
Why are activists taking part in action that’s causing disruption for some Londoners?
Many protestors outside the event argue that a climate crisis is a bigger problem than the disruption protests cause to people attempting to travel around London.
One protester Nick, had this to say to commuters who might be delayed as a result of protests:
“Every day there are over 5 million people trying to get to work in London and we disrupt them because most of them do not understand the importance of this absolutely iniquitous subject”
John, wearing a black boiler suit and carrying an oil can had more choice words for those complaining about disruption:
“We’re fucked basically, if we don’t get this sorted we’re running out of time and yeah if it means your day is messed up slightly then I’m sorry but we’ve got to do it”.
John thinks that the importance of their message means disruption is not only necessary but important
When asked about the action disrupting some Londoners, one Extinction Rebellion member said “Are we being disruptive here? I’d like to think we are, but we’re not stopping people going about their daily life are we, buses [and] taxis can still get through but at the end of the day what really matters is that were in a mess”. This was true on Wednesday. However, over 20 protestors had been detained the day before for obstructing traffic by gluing themselves to the road which prevented any vehicles from getting through.
Protestors are highly aware of the risks they face
Despite protestors being in favour of disruptive protest, many raise the risks they face by taking part in them. One activist City News spoke to, who goes only by the alias ‘Krill’, is a top scientist in Extinction Rebellion. She carries a burner phone at events where there’s a risk of ‘spice’ (protestors nickname for arrests).
Krill says that if you get arrested with your usual phone the police can hold it for up to 6 months. The Police also use it to access protest communications on the secure messaging app Signal.
She says she doesn’t take measures to protect herself but to protect those in her network, some of whom don’t have British citizenship and risk deportation if they’re arrested.
It’s clear that protestors take the risks of disruptive action seriously. One protestor said it’s key they make an impact while “we still have the right to protest”, referring to changes in UK law implicating rights to noisy and disruptive protest.
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas delivered a speech to the crowd outside the conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Caroline Lucas MP addresses protestors outside the conference.
City News caught up with her after and asked what she thought about disruptive protest action. She said:
“The power of disruptive protests is getting things higher up the political agenda, its building momentum, it’s demonstrating that people really care about this stuff and its one element of making change happen…we need that momentum on the streets… that’s why I think peaceful direct protest like this has such an important role to play”.
Search social media for “oil protest” and Londoners’ objection to protest disruption is visible. Recently, disruptive action has made headlines and fuelled debate with Just Stop Oil staging protests on infrastructure and events from motorways to Les Mis.
The best protest we can do is emailing your local MP. If that doesn't work, then don't vote them in! The disruption caused lately hasn't really made a difference. Focus on changing the attitudes peacefully,rather than annoying joe public!
Protestors outside the Energy Intelligence Forum believe that disruptive protest is important to gain wider attention for the causes they are championing. However, Londoners opposed to the tactics are proving equally as vocal.
The protests are set to continue today, make sure to check out City News on all platforms for updates.
Three days of disruptive climate protest are taking place outside the Energy Intelligence Forum on Park Lane, which is scheduled to finish on Thursday evening.
Some Londoners have taken to social media to complain about the disruption they’re facing because of the protests.
Were you there then? Now it’s 14 arrests but tell me how many clowns were there in total? Plenty of us chose to use roads, it’s actually what they were built for, and no one has the right to block the carriageway. It’s illegal you know
Many protesters outside the event argue a climate crisis is a bigger problem than the disruption protests cause to people attempting to travel around London.
One protester had this to say to commuters who might be delayed as a result of protests:
“Every day there are over five million people trying to get to work in London and we disrupt them because most of them do not understand the importance of this absolutely iniquitous subject,” Nick said.
John, wearing a black boiler suit and carrying an oil can, had more choice words for those complaining about disruption:
“We’re f****d basically, if we don’t get this sorted we’re running out of time and, yeah, if it means your day is messed up slightly, then I’m sorry, but we’ve got to do it”.
John thinks that the importance of their message means disruption is not only necessary, but important. Credit: James Tillotson/City News
When asked about the action disrupting some Londoners, one Extinction Rebellion member said: “Are we being disruptive here?
“I’d like to think we are, but we’re not stopping people from going about their daily lives, are we? Buses [and] taxis can still get through but at the end of the day what really matters is that we are in a mess”.
On Tuesday, over 20 protesters were detained for obstructing traffic by gluing themselves to the road which prevented any vehicles from getting through.
Protesters highly aware of risks they face
While supporting disruptive protests, many raise the risks
Despite favouring disruptive protests, many raise the risks they face by participating in them.
One activist, who goes by the alias “Krill”, and is a scientist with Extinction Rebellion, said she carries a burner phone at events where there is a risk of arrests.
Krill said if a protester gets arrested with their usual phone, the police can hold it for up to six months, and will also use it to access protest communications on the secure messaging app Signal.
She says she does not take measures to protect herself but to protect those in her network, some of whom do not have British citizenship and risk deportation if arrested.
One protester said it’s key they make an impact while “we still have the right to protest”, referring to changes in UK law implicating rights to noisy and disruptive protest.
Caroline Lucas MP addressed protesters outside the conference. Credit: James Tillotson/City News
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, who attended the protest and addressed the crowd, told City News:
“The power of disruptive protests is getting things higher up the political agenda, its building momentum, it’s demonstrating that people really care about this stuff and its one element of making change happen.”
“We need that momentum on the streets… that’s why I think peaceful direct protest like this has such an important role to play,” she said.
Londoners have been visibly airing their objections on social media.
Disruptive action has made headlines and fuelled debate with Just Stop Oil staging protests on infrastructure and events, from motorways to a performance of Les Miserables on a West End stage.
The best protest we can do is emailing your local MP. If that doesn't work, then don't vote them in! The disruption caused lately hasn't really made a difference. Focus on changing the attitudes peacefully,rather than annoying joe public!
Protesters outside the Energy Intelligence Forum believe disruptive protest is important to gain wider attention for the causes they are championing. But, Londoners opposed to the tactics are proving equally as vocal.
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