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Banbury Councillor describes recent Extinction Rebellion activities as deplorable
05/09/2020
Banbury members of the group are in London as part of the national protests
A Banbury councillor who supports the aims of Extinction Rebellion has today slammed them for their activities in the last twenty-four hours.
Sean Woodcock, the Labour Councillor who leads the opposition group at Cherwell District Council, said he “deplored their activities overnight”.
More than 100 Extinction Rebellion protesters blocked roads outside the Newsprinters printing works at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, and Knowsley, near Liverpool on Friday night. By Saturday morning, police said some 63 people had been arrested.
Readers of The Sun and The Times were told that the protest action could mean delayed deliveries of papers to newsagents today.
On Thursday an ambulance on an emergency call was caught in an Extinction Rebellion traffic jam as protesters blocked Parliament in London. Footage shows the response vehicle stuck with its lights flashing at a roundabout on Millbank, Westminster, with no way of getting through. Demonstrators had blocked off the nearby bridges, which lead to the nearby St Thomas’ Hospital.
Councillor Woodcock told Banbury FM it was the blocking of the ambulance that he particularly deplored. Writing on Twitter he said, “I went to an Extinction Rebellion meeting in Banbury a year or so ago. I encountered very committed people. All of them were dedicated to doing something to tackle climate change and raise awareness of it among the populace. I support this.
“I deplore their activities overnight”.
Members of Extinction Rebellion Banbury are in London taking part in the demonstrations. Writing on the Facebook page they said, “Members of our group have been in London every day this week, and our human messageboard, changing its slogan several times daily, has been a strong presence in Parliament Square”.
Another post on Friday states, “One of our Banbury rebels was arrested outside Parliament’s main gate”.
The Banbury group in London indicate their plans today include demonstrating what a citizens’ assembly sounds and feels like in Trafalgar Square, “Civil disobedience – with disco” at Buckingham Palace and an event in Parliament Square to “celebrate Indigenous Women’s Day and call for justice for the Amazon”.
The group urges those back in Banbury to lobby their MP and ask them to treat the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill “with the urgency an emergency requires”.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam