Extinction Rebellion activists 'glued shut' around 50 Barclays banks this morning as the climate campaigners accuse the
bank of 'mega-funding fossil fuel projects'.
Branches affected include Guildford, Leeds, London and Farnham, according to Extinction Rebellion (XR), whose members took part in supergluing
locks overnight, along with Money Rebellion 'and other allied groups'.
XR warned the move comes as 'part of a significant new wave of property-focussed climate
action'.
It comes as protesters have called for customers to switch their accounts
to pressure Barclays to 'stop mega-funding fossil fuel projects'.
An XR activist claimed: 'We're responding to public attitudes and targeting the perpetrators of climate breakdown, not ordinary people and we apologise for any inconvenience caused to staff and customers.'
Photos uploaded by XR show an activist wearing latex gloves, armed with superglue and squeezing the strong adhesive
into the keyhole of a door of one the Barclays banks
Posters pasted on the windows of one of the branches reads: 'Barclays has
been on the wrong side of history for centuries.
'Financing the Atlantic slave trade, apartheid in South Africa, weapons and fossil fuels'.
The sign accuses the bank of investing $190 billion in fossil fuels
since 2015, and demands a 'time for change'.
Activists also spray-painted 'Fossil Fools' in large neon pink letters across
the doors of one of the bank's branches.
Photos uploaded by XR show an activist wearing latex gloves, armed with superglue and squeezing the
strong adhesive into the keyhole of a door
of one the Barclays banks.
Another photo shows an activist wearing a facemask and
hoodie, concealing their identity, carefully pasting
one of the posters onto a glass door.
Less than two weeks ago, nine hammer-wielding Extinction Rebellion activists were cleared of
£500,000 of criminal damage after smashing up the 'bomb proof' widows of the HSBC building in Canary Wharf, London on April 22 2021.
The XR activists sang and chanted as they used hammers and chisels to shatter the custom-made windows,
wearing patches reading ‘better broken windows than broken promises',
and placed stickers on the windows of the bank
reading ‘£80 billion into fossil fuels in the last five years.'
Activists also spray-painted 'Fossil Fools' in large neon pink letters across the doors of one of the
bank's branches
Another photo shows an activist wearing a facemask and hoodie, concealing their
identity, carefully pasting one of the posters onto a glass
door
Jessica Agar, 23, Blyth Brentnall, 32, Valerie Brown, 71, Eleanor Bujak, 30,
Clare Farrell, 40, Miriam Instone, 25, Tracey Mallaghan, 47, Susan Reid, 65
and Samantha Smithson, 41, all denied criminal damage and they were cleared
of the charge by a jury.
Paul McCartney's fashion designer daughter Stella McCartney CBE had lent the ‘HSBC
nine' shirts, blazers and suits to wear during their three week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Eco-activist group Just Stop Oil caused chaos in central London with another slow march on Thursday.
Activist Phoebe Plummer, 22, who previously threw soup on Van Gough's Sunflowers, was dramatically arrested
after taking part in the demonstration.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Just Stop Oil claimed the activist was given bail conditions not to protest on any roads and shared a video of Plummer telling people she
was in jail.
Extinction Rebellion activists smashed windows at HSBC's Canary Wharf headquarters
as they claimed the bank is financing climate change.
Last week, Rishi Sunak slapped down a UN envoy
who condemned 'severe' sentences for climate protesters who caused gridlock.
The PM said those responsible for disruption should feel the 'full
force' of the law after the intervention by special rapporteur Ian Fry.
Mr Fry wrote to the government raising the cases of two Just Stop Oil activists
who scaled the Dartford Crossing in October 2022.
But Mr Sunak shot back that it was 'entirely right' to hand 'tough sentences' to demonstrators who cause major disruption.
'Those who break the law should feel the full force of it,' he tweeted.
'It's entirely right that selfish protestors intent on causing misery to the hard-working majority face
tough sentences.
'It's what the public expects and it's what we've delivered.'
GlasgowExtinction RebellionLeedsHSBC
Dienstag, 28. November 2023 12:47