After trying to spray the Treasury in Westminster with fake blood from the top of a fire engine, four Extinction Rebellion Activists have been arrested.
Bearing a banner with the statement 'Stop Funding Climate Death', and dressed head to toe in funeral attire, the protesters were busy making a statement on the UK's military role in the Middle East, as well as the UK's role in investing in companies that cause vast fossil fuel emissions, calling on others to join their cause. They succeeded in spraying at the main HM treasury building, but only for several seconds, at which point control of the hose was lost, and a nearby bystander was drenched in organic liquid (that contained beetroot), and a further 1,800 litres sprayed onto the street.
After 15 minutes, police officers arrived, called them down and arrested them. Mark Ovland was not phased, he was prepared in fact, to go to jail for his protests, saying that, "There needs to be a real wake-up in terms of the money being spent by the government," adding that, "We’re funding billions in fossil fuel subsidies and carbon-intensive projects, and we just need a rethink otherwise we’re in serious danger."
The 83-year-old, who has been previously arrested for similar offences, finally left when the ladder arrived nearly an hour later - saying that the treasury was doing, "terrible things".
Cathy Eastburn has said that her children did not have a future if these devastating policies continued, mentioning that, "They need to stop funding projects that are causing more global warming and meaning that we don’t have a future for our children,” adding that, "all children everywhere do not have a future if we carry on doing this".
The group has stated that the UK has remained the largest fossil fuel subsidiser in the EU - highlighting a recent report by a Commons Committee which has said the UK's Export Finance (a Government credit finance) was undermining the country's international climate and development targets. A nearby supporter took his hat off to the activists, and Robert Possnet (an activist) said: "We all need to make sacrifices, whether as an activist or an individual, in order to save our planet and keep it liveable for our children."
The protest comes before a two-week rebellion, which starts on Monday. Extinction Rebellion calls to "peacefully occupy the centres of power and shut them down" to force the Government to act on the climate emergency.
The Treasury's spokesperson defended the Government saying that the "UK is a world leader on climate change - having reduced its emissions by 42% between 1990 and 2017, while growing the economy by more than two thirds.
"In June, we became the first major economy to legislate to end our contribution to global warming by 2050. We will continue to build on this proud record."
