Eight protesters have been arrested at an Extinction Rebellion demonstration, where activists dressed as the grim reaper, threw fake crude oil and occupied a Westminster office.
The environmental protesters were accused of causing criminal damage and blocking access to the office building of the think tank Policy Exchange on Old Queen Street in Westminster on Monday morning.
Protesters entered the lobby area of the building and five people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass, the Met Police said.
A further three people were arrested on on suspicion of criminal damage.
A police spokesperson said the only remaining obstruction on Monday afternoon was an individual dressed as the grim reaper “who is on top of a tripod structure some distance in the air”.
They added that the protester will be arrested once they are brought down safely and that specialist officers were on route to bring them down.
Extinction Rebellion said activists were occupying the think tank’s central London offices “to demand an end to a campaign of lies and disinformation that has slowed climate action and led directly to long jail sentences for activists”.
The members of Extinction Rebellion held banners bearing the words “Policy Exchange – cut the ties to fossil fuels”.
The group poured pools of black liquid outside the Policy Exchange building alongside a yellow sign reading “Caution: slippery with the truth”.
The group labelled the Policy Exchange as a “climate crisis denial lobbyist” and one protester dressed as a grim reaper outside the Think Tank’s door.
Leaflets given out at the demonstration listed the group’s demands, including “full and open disclosure” of where funding for the think tank comes from, increased transparency of Policy Exchange meetings with MPs and government departments, and the removal of charitable status for “any lobby group” that receives money from “big oil and gas”.
The last remaining obstruction is this individual who is on top of a tripod structure some distance in the air.
— Westminster Police | Central West BCU (@MPSWestminster) July 29, 2024
They will be arrested, but we have a responsibility in law to ensure protesters at height are brought down safely. There are specialist officers en route to do this. pic.twitter.com/aSdhvuydhh
The Policy Exchange has been contacted for comment.
