Extinction Rebellion protesters block major London bridge

Activists close off London Bridge with bus on ninth day of demonstrations

Extinction Rebellion (XR) brought parts of London to a standstill on day nine of the group's protest across the capital when activists closed off London Bridge with a bus.

Demonstrators blocked the south side of the bridge with a vintage-looking single-decker which was quickly surrounded by police. A day earlier, traffic over Tower Bridge was halted by the protesters using a parked caravan.

Throughout the day, some glued themselves to pavements while others marched banging drums and clapping.

The Metropolitan Police said 43 further arrests had been made on Tuesday, taking the total number of detained climate activists to 469.

The force later defended the actions of its officers after footage showed them using batons and dragging protesters.

The Met tweeted: “There have been some questions today on our use of force while attempting to disrupt the protest involving Extinction Rebellion's bus.

”It is very clear that the demo near London Bridge was an attempt to cause a major disruption to one of London's busiest bridges.

“Seeing this, officers nearby took immediate action to prevent any unreasonable disruption to the highway, and to detain those attempting to cause disruption or who were obstructing officers in the lawful execution of their duty.

”We believe this swift action prevented some protesters from setting up further complex lock-on devices which were inside the bus.

“Given the circumstances and likely disruption to the community, our initial assessment is that their use of force was reasonable and proportionate.”

Extinction Rebellion protesters use a bus to block London Bridge (EPA)

As part of the protests, which began last week, activists have blocked a road in central London with a large pink table containing built-in lock-ons, spray painted the floor outside the HM Revenue & Customs headquarters and daubed the famous Guildhall in the City of London in red paint.

Animal Rebellion, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, dyed the Buckingham Palace fountains red in protest at animal hunting.

On Tuesday, activists also blocked the entrance and exit to the UK’s largest dairy factory, preventing the delivery of thousands of pints of milk.

Protesters from Animal Rebellion arrived at 5am on Tuesday morning and erected two wooden tower structures at the entrance and exit of Arla’s factory in Aylesbury.

Around 50 activists were camped out at the site, with some “locked-on” to a van and lying in the middle of the roads leading to the dairy plant.

Eleven demonstrators were arrested on Monday during the Tower Bridge occupation.

Extinction Rebellion London tweeted: “We will leave the streets when the government starts treating the climate emergency like an emergency.

”Covid showed what the government can do in a crisis, it's the level of response required for the climate but sustained over years.”