London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Met 'stretched' by Extinction Rebellion protests

With 1,100 arrests so far during the week's climate protests, police say they has diverted resources.

Extinction Rebellion protests have "stretched" police resources in London, the Metropolitan Police chief has said.

Dame Cressida Dick said she hoped the demonstrators would "protest lawfully" or "go home" after their "failure to take and occupy" certain streets.

A week of climate protests, including at Trafalgar Square and the BBC's New Broadcasting House, have seen more than 1,100 people arrested.

The movement said many protesters will "risk their liberty" for their cause.

Police have asked activists who have been demonstrating close to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster to move their protests in Trafalgar Square or risk arrest.

They served a Section 14 notice - designed to prevent "serious disruption" to communities - before removing those who had camped out in Westminster.

Dame Cressida said that if demonstrators protested lawfully she could deploy "many" officers "back to the streets, back to the neighbourhoods, back to the schools, back to the wards of the people of London".

"We are responding to all serious matters and urgent matters of course, carrying on with our crime investigations in homicide or armed robbery," she said.

"But we're having to move work from one unit to another and the less urgent, less critical, less important work of course gets delayed."

Responding to Dame Cressida's comments, Extinction Rebellion said it is a "peaceful non-violent movement" and that many protesters are "prepared to risk their liberty to stand up for the planet".

It added that young people are already experiencing "eco-anxiety" - a feeling of being overwhelmed by the existential challenge of climate change - and the police chief's response "is only going to make the situation worse".

Extinction Rebellion activists are protesting in cities around the world, including Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam and Sydney, and are calling for urgent action on global climate and wildlife emergencies.

As part of their protests on Friday, activists gathered outside tents at Trafalgar Square and blocked the entrance to the BBC's central London headquarters.

Jon Fuller, who is part of Extinction Rebellion's media team, said that while the BBC is reporting more on tackling climate change than ever before, it does not report "the most frightening" news stories.

The BBC said it covers "many climate change and environmental issues", adding that programmes such as Blue Planet II and Climate Change: The Facts have a "huge impact" on public debate.

"We know how important these issues are to audiences and will continue to focus on them across both news and non-news programmes, whilst internally doing all we can to lead the way in promoting sustainability in the media industry," it said in a statement.

On Thursday, a Paralympic medallist climbed on top of a British Airways plane at London City Airport.

Another man refused to sit in his seat, delaying a flight by nearly two hours.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×