At Extinction Rebellion’s protest outside the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, Metropolitan Police officers struggled to carry a protester who was arrested alongside over one hundred other activists for blocking the roads of London.
In a Breitbart London exclusive video, an Extinction Rebellion protester was heard sardonically asking the police officers for a “coffee and a hamburger” as they stood around her waiting for more officers to assist in carrying the protester, who was under arrest for obstructing the road by Parliament Square.
At several points during the altercation, the officers laid down the XR protester to allow the activist to pull up her trousers and for the police to take a breather.
One police officer was heard laughing, which drew condemnation from another Extinction Rebellion protester. The officer defended himself by saying that it was “amusing”.
At least 160 Extinction Rebellion protesters were arrested on Tuesday according to the Metropolitan Police, on charges ranging from breaching Public Order conditions, obstructing the highway, obstructing police, and at least one assault on an emergency worker.
Met Commander Jane Connors said: “The reason we have implemented these conditions is that we know these protests may result in serious disruption to local businesses, commuters and our communities and residents, which I will not tolerate.”
The mass gathering held by Extinction Rebellion drew condemnation from prominent politicians on the right in the UK.
Conservative MP Ben Bradley said that the protest was “another colossal waste of [the] Metropolitan Police’s time and resources looking after lots of people who have the great luxury of clearly not needing to be at work, whilst they prevent others from getting to work.”
London Assembly Member David Kurten said: “Extinction Rebellion should not be allowed to illegally block London’s roads. I’m waiting for the Metropolitan Police to hit them with a £10,000 fine.”
The green extremist group has said that it will hold 10 days of demonstrations in London, with the stated aim of forcing Parliament to adopt the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.
Last week, coronavirus skeptic Piers Corbyn was handed the £10,000 fine from police for organising an anti-lockdown protest in London. The ability to hand out such fines was recently added to Britain’s Chinese coronavirus regulations.
In 2019, over 1,700 members of Extinction Rebellion were arrested during their so-called ‘Autumn Uprising’, which sought to shut down the British capital.
The cost of policing the protests held by the climate change alarmist group totalled over £37 million in 2019 — more than double the annual budget of the Violent Crime Taskforce, which is £15 million.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said last year that the strain on resources and manpower limited the police’s ability to investigate other crimes in London.
Follow Kurt on Twitter at @KurtZindulka
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