Extinction Rebellion protests – live: Activists strip naked outside Barclays after police remove people glued to plants
Activists at the Extinction Rebellion protest have now been freed from the plant pots, onto which they had glued themselves, only to be been placed immediately into handcuffs and taken to a police van.
Others stripped naked infront of a branch of Barclays bank in protest, behind a banner which read: “We are all vulnerable, stop funding fossil fuels”.
Meanwhile, dozens of medical staff, including doctors, surgeons and anesthetists, gathered outside JP Morgan’s headquarters in London calling on the investment bank to divest from fossil fuels on Friday, with a warning that failing to act now would make the planet “uninhabitable”.
Some protesters lay on the floor while others stood behind a giant banner reading “stop funding fossil fuels”.
Dr David McKelvey, a GP for 36 years, said: “We call on them to face up to the reality of catastrophe they are fuelling. Stop all new fossil fuel investments now.”
Police gathered at the Canary Wharf site and one nurse could be heard telling security “you’re hurting me, you’re really hurting me”.
JP Morgan declined to comment on the protest.
The action is the tenth day of the ongoing Impossible Rebellion, a series of protests by Extinction Rebellion and related groups on environmental issues.
On Thursday, activists from HS2 Rebellion, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, scaled the seven-storey Tower Place West building in the City of London which houses the offices of insurance company Marsh – linked to the HS2 rail project.
Read More
Extinction Rebellion answer your questions about their protests in London
Key Points
China rejects US demands in climate talks
Extinction Rebellion: GP attacks JP Morgan for fossil fuel investments at protest
Dozens of medical staff gather outside J P Morgan in Canary Wharf
Medics stage protests in their scrubs - pictures
Police erect ‘boxes’ to shield XR members glued to path
Specialist officers move in to free glued hands of XR members
Dozens of medical staff gather outside J P Morgan in Canary Wharf
08:20 , Sam Hancock
Good morning from the 10th day of Extinction Rebellion’s takeover of London.
This morning, dozens of medical staff - including doctors, surgeons and anesthetists - have gathered outside J P Morgan in Canary Wharf, demanding that the financial services giant stops funding fossil fuels.
Some lay on the floor and others stood behind a giant banner reading “stop funding fossil fuels”.
Currently only a very small police presence is here, alongside some of Canary Wharf’s own security team.
We’ll keep you updated as things develop.
Medics stage protests in their scrubs - pictures
08:38 , Tom Batchelor
‘We have a duty to act,’ says XR activist
08:52 , Sam Hancock
An XR member has plugged in a microphone and begun explaining to passers—by, and J P Morgan employees, why the group is here today.
“As healthcare professionals, we have a duty to act,” she told the crowd of people gathering around.
“The fact is we know that the root cause of the majority of harm affecting children is fossil fuel burning, so we are asking J P Morgan today to stop investing in them.”
As she finished, a second police van arrived and more officers could be seen circling the demonstration.
It’s still fairly quiet, but an XR spokesperson has told The Independent that protestors will be here “until we all get arrested”.
Security staff warn XR members they will be removed from area
08:56 , Tom Batchelor
Here’s more from Independent reporter Sam Hancock:
Men calling themselves the head of security at J P Morgan’s Canary Wharf building have begun telling XR members that they must leave immediately.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” The Independent heard one of the men tell protestors.
“This is private property and if you don’t leave of your own free will, my staff will remove you or the police will. Do you understand?”
The majority of medical stuff said they would not leave and are now being removed by force.
‘You’re really hurting me’
09:01 , Tom Batchelor
This nurse could be heard telling security “you’re hurting me, you’re really hurting me”.
Three police vans arrive as protesters glue hands to floor
09:06 , Tom Batchelor
As police and private security begin picking doctors and nurses off the floor, three more police vans have arrived outside J P Morgan.
Two protestors have now super glued their hands to the floor, while two others have glued themselves to flower boxes outside the building.
Cleanup operation already underway
09:14 , Tom Batchelor
A cleanup operation is already underway by J P Morgan as cleaners began frantically clearing red spray paint which read “code red”.
Police have now formed a human barrier on one side of the demonstration to obstruct protestors from coming back.
XR protestors move demo to DLR station
09:23 , Tom Batchelor
After an intense removal by police and Canary Wharf security, XR protestors are now sat in a group outside the DLR station.
One woman, who is crying, has said the police were violent enough when they moved her that it hurt her arthritis.
Another, Adele Stanton, an occupational therapist, told The Independent that she worked mostly with wheelchair users.
“I work hard, I’ve taken the day off work today to be here because I believe it’s that important.
“The simple fact is that as climate change worsens and things like floods and fires become more frequent, it’ll be the wheelchair users I work with - or people like them - who die first.”
Ms Stanton, 57, added: “I have a duty of care to them.”
Video shows protesters being removed
09:30 , Tom Batchelor
Protesters ‘unable to deliver letter to JP Morgan'
09:43 , Sam Hancock
An XR member has been told he cannot deliver the letter the group has written to J P Morgan in person.
A canary wharf security guard walked into the building to aak but was told the company will not accept anything they are given, he claimed.
Police have now formed a fairly tight barrier around protestors, who remain outside the DLR, and are telling us we may not be able to return if we leave.
Passers-by are also being instructed to walk around the circle of security - not through the gaps.
One XR member told The Independent five medical staff are still glued to the path in front of J P Morgan’s building.
‘This is a medical emergency'
09:55 , Tom Batchelor
It’s a peaceful scene outside Canary Wharf’s DLR station, as XR doctors, nurses and other medical staff continue to occupy an area outside J P Morgan, writes our reporter Sam Hancock, who is at the protest in east London.
Dozens of medical staff, who have all taken a day off work to be here, are holding signs which read “this is a medical emergency” and “code red”.
Some are continuing to hand out leaflets to commuters who walk by.
“This is an act of communication,” Dr Lynne Jones OBE FRCPsych told The Independent. “I want to talk to people and help them understand why we are here - that’s why I’ve been approaching them and simply saying, ‘Do you want to know why we’re here’?
“And more often than not the response is yes, and they get it.”
2,000 officers police XR protests
10:07 , Tom Batchelor
Nearly 2,000 officers have been involved in policing Extinction Rebellion protests each day in London, a police chief has said.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, of the Metropolitan Police, told Times Radio: “It’s been extremely busy over the last 10 days, we’ve had nearly 2,000 police officers every day just looking at trying to manage these protests.
“This is because it’s not the numbers of protesters but it’s the level of serious disruption that they’re looking to cause, which is impacting on other Londoners.
“We’ve said right from the start, we know that Extinction Rebellion have the right to protest and the right to assemble.
“But what we also made clear is these are qualified rights and they have got to be balanced against the rights of the rest of London and Londoners, the people, the businesses, the communities who want to lawfully go about their business.
“Where we’ve seen cases of both very serious and totally unreasonable disruption looking to be caused, we have to take action and move in and make arrests.”
Police arrest activists after JP Morgan protest - pictures
10:20 , Tom Batchelor
Extinction Rebellion protesters removed from JP Morgan demonstration
10:33 , Tom Batchelor
Video footage shows the moment Extinction Rebellion protesters are removed by police at JP Morgan demonstration.
Here is the clip:
Watch: Extinction Rebellion protesters removed from J P Morgan demonstration
‘If I’d done nothing, this place would’ve been inhabitable'
10:36 , Tom Batchelor
Dr Robin Stott, a 79-year-old retired consultant who XR refer to as the granddaddy of medicine, told The Independent:“I’ve been aware of the climate and ecological emergency for 30 years and we doctors have tried all the conventional routes to make a difference - and as you know, it’s not made much of a difference.
“So we need to do more, which makes movements like Extinction Rebellion very important.”He added that Doctors for XR, the group everyone here today is a part of, is “a vital ingredient to achieving change”.
After calling J P Morgan “monsters”, Dr Stott said he hoped if today could achieve one thing it would be for “these big corporations to stop investing in fossil fuels and start investing in the climate crisis and socially just causes”.
Asked what he hoped anyone skeptical of the movement would take away from today’s action, Dr Stott said: “Just go home, look your children in the eye and say to them, ‘In 50 years time, if I’d done nothing, this place would’ve been inhabitable’.”
Police erect ‘boxes’ to shield XR members glued to path
10:42 , Tom Batchelor
Police and Canary Wharf security have erected two makeshift ‘boxes’, shielding those XR members still glued to the path outside J P Morgan’s building. There are three Doctors for XR members in the bigger fenced-in box, and two in the other, a spokesperson for the group confirmed.
Security personnel are working to remove them.
When asked to comment by The Independent, one guard declined.
Extinction Rebellion answer your questions about their protests in London
10:45 , Tom Batchelor
Amid two weeks of demonstrations demanding greater action to tackle the climate crisis, XR’s goals and their tactics are in the spotlight.
Here, the organisation’s Clare Farrell answered questions from The Independent’s readers:
Extinction Rebellion answer your questions about the wave of protests in London
Dozens more police arrive at JP Morgan building
10:53 , Tom Batchelor
Dozens more police officers have now arrived at the JP Morgan building, as officers attempt to remove the doctors and medical students glued to the path.
One of the fences has been removed, which revealed officers searching the bag of a medical student whose hand remains glued to a large flower pot outside the bank’s building.
Those glued have also defaced the various flower pots with black graffiti, reading “code red”.
Police are asking all passers-by to move on as quickly as possible.
Metropolitan Police officers could also be seen taking the details of those XR members still attached to the structures.
Heavy police presence remains as fence removed
11:05 , Tom Batchelor
The second temporary fence has now been removed, showing the rest of the doctors who are glued to planters outside J P Morgan.
A heavy police presence remains, with most officers standing by as their colleagues attempt to remove the XR protestors.
The rest of the group remain down the road, sitting outside the DLR station, where leaflets are being distributed and occasional chants of “extinction” and “rebellion” can be heard.
Glasgow has hottest summer on record ahead of Cop26 climate summit
11:05 , Tom Batchelor
Away from the XR protests, briefly, but still on the issue of the heating planet, Glasgow has recorded its hottest summer on record, just weeks ahead of hosting the critical UN Cop26 summit on tackling the worsening climate crisis.
The record-breaking heat in Scotland came during a summer defined by extreme weather events around the world, leading to catastrophic flooding and devastating wildfires in America and Canada, Europe and Russia and the Middle East and China.
Here is the story:
Glasgow has hottest summer on record ahead of Cop26 climate summit
Specialist officers move in to free glued hands of XR members
11:06 , Tom Batchelor
Specialist officers have now moved in to free the glued hands of XR members.
The medical professionals, who are also XR protestors, have been handed plastic goggles to wear while police attempt to unstick their hands.
So far, no one has been freed.
Officers have been trying for about 15 minutes.
The doctors have been glued to the planters for around three hours now.
Two glued-on XR protestors freed and in handcuffs
11:13 , Tom Batchelor and Sam Hancock
Two of the glued-on XR protestors have now been freed and placed immediately into handcuffs.
Patrick Heart, the XR member who is wearing scrubs that say “GP”, has been taken away by officers and placed in a police van.
Meanwhile, a medical student who has just been freed appeared to resist police by sitting on the floor momentarily.
However, officers have now placed her in the van too.
The remaining glued-on protestors will now be looked over by the specialist officers.
Meanwhile, J P Morgan security have begun covering up the graffitied planters.
Police defend swift action to shut down XR protest
11:22 , Tom Batchelor
Officers are acting “more swiftly” to arrest Extinction Rebellion protesters in London, a police chief has said as he defended the tactics used to counter the demonstrations.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist told Times Radio: “What we saw at other locations on Sunday was an attempt outside the Science Museum to set up complex structures with complex lock-on devices to cause serious disruption to the public of London.
“And that’s when officers are moving in and acting more swiftly to make arrests and try to lawfully remove the protesters.
“Over the 10 days we’ve made 480 arrests, we’ve removed 81 people who were glued on to structures, we’ve removed 52 people who were locked on to structures, and 31 of those from height.
“The important point is all of this takes a huge amount of time and resources and these resources are the same offices that are being obstructed from what we want them to be doing in their local boroughs, which is bearing down on violence.”
‘Cause of death: fossil fuel finance'
12:03 , Tom Batchelor and Sam Hancock
As glued-on XR members are freed from planters outside JP Morgan, and taken off in police vans, a group of the other healthcare workers have staged a death demonstration outside Canary Wharf station.
Six doctors are lying “dead” beside a sign that reads: “Cause of death: fossil fuel finance.”
Passers-by are taking a keen interest in what’s happening, including one child who The Independent heard asking her mum: “What are fossil fuels mummy?”
A police officer has informed the doctors and nurses they may be asked to move soon. The Impossible Rebellion continues.
Six doctors lie “dead” in front of Canary Wharf tube station
12:19 , Sam Hancock
A group of six doctors can be seen lying “dead” in front of Canary Wharf tube station infront of a sign that reads: “Cause of death: fossil fuel finance.”
Dramatic global warming 55 million years ago was exacerbated by climate ‘tipping points’. research reveals
12:35 , Eleanor Sly
Moving momentarily away from the protests, a new study suggests the warming planet hit various ‘tipping points’ that released more carbon, triggering more warming.
Around 55 million years ago, a major climate event upended our planet’s weather systems in what is recognised as one of the most rapid and dramatic instances of climate change the world has ever seen.
But theories behind the cause of the 150,000-year-long event have been inconclusive.
Read the full story here:
Dramatic global warming 55 million years ago was exacerbated by ‘tipping points’
Nearly 500 arrests made since Monday
12:55 , Eleanor Sly
Almost 500 people have been arrested in the latest wave of Extinction Rebellion protests in London.
Police have been accused of being particularly heavy-handed with protestors after officers could be seen using batons as well as forcefully dragging protesters from the top of a bus on Tuesday, near to London Bridge.
Matt Twist, Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner, told Times Radio: “It’s not the numbers of protesters but it’s the level of serious disruption that they’re looking to cause, which is impacting on other Londoners.
“We’ve said right from the start, we know that Extinction Rebellion have the right to protest and the right to assemble.
“But what we also made clear is these are qualified rights and they have got to be balanced against the rights of the rest of London and Londoners, the people, the businesses, the communities who want to lawfully go about their business.
“Where we’ve seen cases of both very serious and totally unreasonable disruption looking to be caused, we have to take action and move in and make arrests.”
Hurricane Larry expected to become Category 4 storm as it strengthens over Atlantic
13:10 , Eleanor Sly
Elsewhere, Hurricane Larry is expected to become a Category 4 storm as it builds in strength over the Atlantic Ocean and makes its way towards the Caribbean.
“Additional strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and Larry could become a major hurricane by tonight,” the National Hurricane Center said of the storm’s progress.
While Larry is unlikely to pose any direct threat to the US, it could see an increase in ocean currents on the eastern coast and a higher prevalence of dangerous rip tides.
Watch more here:
Hurricane Larry is expected to become a Category 4 storm
Extinction Rebellion: GP attacks JP Morgan for fossil fuel investments at protest
13:25 , Eleanor Sly
Video footage shows GP attacking JP Morgan after dozens of medical staff gathered outside the investment bank headquarters in London calling on it to divest from fossil fuels.
Metropolitan Police gathered at the Canary Wharf site with protesters lying on the floor while others stood behind a giant banner reading ‘stop funding fossil fuels’.
The large protest comes on the tenth day of the ongoing Impossible Rebellion which is a series of protests by Extinction Rebellion and related groups on environmental issues.
Watch here:
Watch: GP attacks JP Morgan for fossil fuel investments at Extinction Rebellion protest
Protestors march through City and St Pauls
13:54 , Eleanor Sly
Activists have moved off from St Pauls cathedral and are making their way through the City, closely followed by officers from Metropolitan Police, as protests continue.
#ExtinctionRebellion protests in #London are continuing today - before wrapping up over the weekend.
The group’s just moved off from St Paul’s - and will be marching through the City. pic.twitter.com/BNr3j5UIow— Greatest Hits Radio London News (@GHRLondonNews) September 3, 2021
Gaza is battling to tackle deadly pollution levels as efforts are hampered by continued conflict
14:31 , Eleanor Sly
In other Climate news, in early May, Gaza’s top water officials did a tour of new facilities and declared that the hard work had paid off: Gaza could no longer be considered “uninhabitable” because of its water and sewage crisis.
A week later, a devastating 11-day war between Palestinian militants and Israel’s army erupted, and that notion quite literally blew up.
Home to 2 million people, Gaza has suffered under a 14-year long Israeli and Egyptian blockade in place since the militant group Hamas violently seized control of the strip. Since then, four wars between militants and Israel have also battered vital infrastructure.
Bel Trew has more:
Gaza is battles deadly pollution levels as efforts are hampered by continued conflict
The Independent Climate Newsletter: Sign up for free weekly updates on the environmental emergency
15:14 , Eleanor Sly
The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time. Since the first major warnings about the impact of carbon emissions on the global climate in the 1970s, the stream of disquieting evidence has become a torrent.
This is no longer a crisis-in-waiting, it’s unfolding before our eyes. 2020 tied with 2016 as the hottest year, in the hottest decade since records began. Hellish wildfires spanned the globe, killing or displacing nearly 3 billion animals in Australia, and in California, a new word - gigafire - was needed to describe unprecedented blazes.
The UK experienced record downpours with severe flooding in Cumbria, Wales, and Yorkshire. Intense cyclones left swathes of the Indian subcontinent under water. Meteorologists ran out of names for Atlantic hurricanes as powerful systems dumped rain across the Americas and Caribbean and battered coastlines with ferocious winds, in the most active season on record.
Sign up here:
Sign up to The Independent Climate Newsletter for free weekly updates on the environmental emergency
Extinction Rebellion activists strip naked in front of Barclays
15:34 , Eleanor Sly
A number of Extinction Rebellion activists stripped naked infront of a branch of Barclays bank in London.
Four protestors, two male and two female, took of their clothes infront of a banner which read: “We are all vulnerable, stop funding fossil fuels”.
Underneath their clothes, writing across their bodies read “divest now”, “stop funding fossil fuels”, “stop funding death” and “morally bankrupt”.
Critically endangered: North Atlantic right whales
16:14 , Lamiat Sabin
North Atlantic right whales have become critically endangered as a result of oceans warming up, according to a new study.
Higher temperatures in the Gulf of Maine have driven the species from its traditional and protected habitat and into unsafe waters, researchers have said.
Warming in the Gulf of Maine has been rising faster than 99 per cent of the global oceans over the past decade, reducing the abundance of copepods – tiny fatty crustaceans that make up the whale’s main food source.
The whales now have to travel north-east to the Gulf of St Lawrence in Canada for food.
Leonie Chao-Fong reportsâ
North Atlantic right whales critically endangered by climate crisis
eBay sales result in 18,000 tonnes saved from landfill
16:45 , Lamiat Sabin
Sales on eBay this year have saved almost 87 million items – 18,000 tonnes – from landfill as a result of an increase in second-hand sales.
There has been a 29 per cent increase in the online sales in 2021 compared to 2018.
Joanna Whitehead reports
Surge in second-hand sees eBay save 87 million items from landfill
China rejects US demands in climate talks
17:15 , Lamiat Sabin
China has told the US that it will form its own climate change plans.
US special envoy John Kerry is in China, where he has been urging the country’s leaders to do more to tackle climate change.
He has had a series of meetings with China’s chief climate affairs negotiator Xie Zhenhua, Vice-Premier Han Zheng, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and diplomat Yang Jiechi.
Mr Kerry’s list of proposals included a public commitment to the 1.5C global warming limit as stipulated in the 2015 Paris agreement, a time frame for carbon emissions to peak before 2030, and an end to financing overseas coal-fired projects.
But the two sides failed to reach agreement, according to the source, who requested anonymity, cited by South China Morning Post.
“China already has its own plans and road map for achieving its climate goals,” said the source, adding China would not bow under pressure from the US.
Seabird breeding numbers drop by almost half in Scotland
17:45 , Lamiat Sabin
Since the 1980s, seabird breeding numbers in Scotland have declined by almost half, a report has found.
The main reasons behind the decline are fisheries, climate change, and invasive non-native species, a study by the government agency NatureScot said.
Drawing on data from the UK seabird monitoring programme, which looked at breeding numbers for 11 species, numbers fell by 49 per cent between 1986 and the most recent estimate in 2019.
Arctic skua showed the largest decline at 81 per cent, with a lack of sandeel fish understood to be a factor.
Common tern numbers have also dropped sharply by 48 per cent.
However guillemot numbers have increased by 17 per cent since 2016 and are at a similar level to the early 2000s.
Bird’s eye view of Chaparral wildfire in California
18:15 , Lamiat Sabin
Aerial footage shows the shocking scale of the Chaparral Fire in California.
The footage shared by Cal Fire on Instagram shows the wildfire burning in Riverside and San Diego that reached 1,427 acres, and was 80 percent contained as of Wednesday.
Watch: Jaw-dropping aerial footage shows scale of California wildfires
Covid lockdowns resulted in sharp reductions in pollutants
18:45 , Lamiat Sabin
The UN weather agency says the world — and especially urban areas — had short, sharp drops in emissions of air pollutants over the coronavirus pandemic last year.
The World Meteorological Organisation, releasing its first ever Air Quality and Climate Bulletin today, warned that the reductions in pollution were “localised” and many parts of the world showed levels that outpaced air quality guidelines.
Some types of pollutants continued to emerge at regular or even higher levels, it said.
WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas said: “COVID-19 proved to be an unplanned air-quality experiment, and it did lead to temporary localized improvements.
“But a pandemic is not a substitute for sustained and systematic action to tackle major drivers of both population and climate change and to safeguard the health of both people and planet.”
NY launches initiatives to tackle extreme weather
19:15 , Lamiat Sabin
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a series of initiatives today to deal with extreme weather.
Hurricane Ida – downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical depression – travelled north from the Gulf coast. The floods have killed dozens of people in Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
Mr de Blasio announced a more aggressive use of travel bans to get residents off the street ahead of a storm, and evacuations to help people living in vulnerable spaces like basement apartments.
He estimated there were tens of thousands of basement apartments in the city in violation of building codes.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said: “Some people have called this a 500-year event. I don’t buy it.
“This could literally happen next week ... I don’t ever want to again see Niagara Falls rushing down the stairs in one of the New York City subways.”
XR calls on people to join their demo tomorrow
19:45 , Lamiat Sabin
Extinction Rebellion is calling on people to join their protest tomorrow in central London.
The group, which has been demonstrating in the capital for five days so far, has launched a variety of demos including a naked protest in front of a branch of Barclays bank today.
The March for Nature starts tomorrow at 4pm in Trafalgar Square.
Have you been waiting to come to the table?
Have you been sitting alone wondering how the biodiversity crisis and #ClimateEmergency will impact you and your family?
Join the March For Nature, Sat 4th, 1pm, Trafalgar Square.#ExtinctionRebelion #RebelForLife #ActNow pic.twitter.com/VCKTQfOZxF— Extinction Rebellion UK 🌍 (@XRebellionUK) September 3, 2021
Pyrenees glaciers ‘likely to be reduced to ice patches'
20:15 , Lamiat Sabin
Europe’s southernmost glaciers will likely be reduced to ice patches in the next two decades due to climate change, Spanish scientists say in a new study.
It comes as the shrinking of ice mass on the Pyrenees mountain range continues at a steady but rapid speed seen at least since the 1980s.
The Pyrenees, marking the natural border between Spain and France, saw three glaciers disappear or become reduced to stagnant strips of ice since 2011.
In 17 of the two dozen remaining ice sheets, there’s been an average loss of 20 feet of ice thickness.
Their mass also shrank over one-fifth on average, or 23 per cent, in nearly one decade, according to the study published last week in the peer-reviewed Geophysical Research Letters. Its findings were announced to the media today.
The Spanish scientists blamed climate change for the retreat, and in particular a 1.5C overall temperature increase in the Pyrenean region since the 19th century.
“What we are seeing here is an advance warning of what may happen in other mountains, like in the Alps,” said Jesus Revuelto, one of the study’s authors. “Their glaciers have much more mass and entity, but we are showing them the way.”
21:25 , Lamiat Sabin
That’s it for today’s coverage. Thanks for following.
