Extinction Rebellion latest: police descend on Oxford Circus as Dame Emma Thompson rallies climate change activists from pink boat

Scores of police officers descended on central London this afternoon as they closed in on Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters on the fifth day of demonstrations.

Metropolitan Police officers surrounded a pink boat in Oxford Circus as Dame Emma Thompson rallied activists with a rousing speech and poem.

She joined the protests after jetting into London from Los Angeles.

There have been more than 570 arrests this week across London linked to the protests.

Dame Emma Thompson on the pink boat at Oxford Circus
PA

"We are here in this little island of sanity and it makes me so happy to be able to join you all and to add my voice to the young people here who have inspired a whole new movement," Dame Emma said to cheers of support.

Police descended on Oxford Circus on Good Friday
REUTERS

Speaking to reporters, she said her generation had failed to protect the planet for young people.

Dame Emma joined activists on Friday
PA

She added: "We have seriously failed them and our planet is in serious trouble, we have much, much less time than we thought.

"I have seen the evidence for myself and I really care about my children and grandchildren enough to want to be here today to stand with the next generation."

Dame Emma
REUTERS

When asked whether protesters were having too much fun, Dame Emma said protests should have a sense of joy.

She added: "If you can't have fun whilst saving the planet, what's the point?

The Hollywood actress greets activists
Getty Images

"Protest should always have a sense of joy in it because what we are protesting about is saving this extraordinary home of ours and also celebrating the passion and inspiring energy of this young generation.

"These are young people who have finally said to my generation 'I'm so sorry but you have failed us'.

Dame Emma speaks to reporters
AFP/Getty Images

"We all feel dreadful about that. My feeling is I feel massively inspired by this young generation and want to stand next to them."

She said climate change is "the most pressing and urgent problem of our time, in the history of the human race".

Extinction Rebellion protest 2019 - In pictures

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Shortly after Dame Emma's address, a team of police officers encircled the boat and told bystanders there was an ordinance to clear the area.

Police pushed bystanders further away from the blockade while dozens more officers moved in.

Police surrounded protesters on Friday
Getty Images

Dame Emma left the protest but told activists she was sorry she had to go.

She said it was the police's decision to expend manpower at a non-violent protest. She added: "If they choose to close down a non-violent protest by using their police... that's their decision. If that causes difficulties then that's their problem and their decision."

Earlier, on Friday morning, about 20 activists, most of them under 17, had staged a brief demonstration on roads near Heathrow Airport.

Standing close to a tunnel which leads to terminals two and three, they unfurled a black banner with the message: "Are we the last generation?"

Officers keep watch at Oxford Circus
AFP/Getty Images

Several police officers watched over group before an XR spokesman announced before midday there were no further plans to cause disruption at the airport.

All roads remained open during the demonstration, which is part of a two-week campaign that began in central London on Monday.

Heathrow previously said it was "working with authorities" to remain business as usual.

Waterloo Bridge has now been blocked by demonstrators for five days despite the Metropolitan Police making more than 570 arrests.

Climate change activists hold a banner as they attend an Extinction Rebellion protest outside Heathrow Airport
REUTERS

Ten people had been charged by the force by Thursday night and three others arrested by British Transport Police were remanded in custody after they appeared in court accused of obstructing trains at Canary Wharf.

The Met said: "The protesters are using tactics of lying on the ground when approached. This means that it takes at least four officers to remove one person to ensure their safety which is resource intensive."

Routes are also blocked around Parliament Square and Marble Arch, and Home Secretary Sajid Javid has urged police to use the "full force of the law".

"I totally condemn any protesters who are stepping outside the boundaries of the law," Mr Javid said.

Extinction Rebellion has blocked a number of key junctions in central London
Getty Images

"They have no right to cause misery for the millions of people who are trying to lead their daily lives."

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, told BBC Breakfast the protests were "very, very difficult" to handle and could cost "millions".

He said: "The sufferers will be the communities in the local boroughs where officers are being taken from the community areas and the funding and money has to be found to deal with what we are doing."

XR has pledged to continue causing disruption until its demands are met.

They want the Government to declare a climate emergency and take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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