Extinction Rebellion protests: Activists arrested as they bring rush-hour traffic to standstill in City of London

Police have arrested several climate change activists after hundreds of protesters formed roadblocks in the City of London, bringing rush-hour traffic to a standstill.

Twenty double-decker buses were rendered stationary by the Extinction Rebellion group who “swarmed” outside Bank Station and the Bank of England this morning.

Police were warning protesters individually they would be arrested under Section 40 order for obstructing traffic if they did not leave the area.

Just before 10am, several protesters had been arrested and carried away as police continued to clear the area.

Leading activists, such as people carrying drums and a woman with a megaphone, were led away by officers, as the crowd cheered them on.

However, hundreds remained at the crossroads waving Extinction Rebellion flags and chanting “Extinction Rebellion” and “power to the people”.

An ambulance was also halted by the protesters for around 20 seconds but they cleared for it to pass through and cheered as it left.

Meanwhile, frustrated workers faced mayhem as they headed into the city from 7am.

One protester said she had received “death threats” from passers-by.

Iris Skipworth, 20, who was handing out Extinction Rebellion leaflets to commuters at the obstructed crossroads at Bank, said: “A lot of commuters are very annoyed, because they are trying to get to work quickly. I can understand, but it’s shortsighted.

“I have had people saying things like ‘Get a job, you w*****’, ‘Get out of the road’, and ‘Why don’t you go extinct?’.”

Other City workers posted on Twitter saying the group’s roadblocks were contributing to climate change.

One said: #ExtinctionRebellion adding to the carbon footprint in the city today.”

While another wrote: “#ExtinctionRebellion protesters outside of Bank Station this morning. They have caused major traffic in the city causing a whole lot of extra pollution - they didn’t think about now did they #annoying #goaway!”

The group said they were targeting the city in an effort to cause “maximum disruption” as their international protests entered a second week.

The group say the banking sector is “contributing to funding climate breakdown (that) is driving us towards ecological collapse.”

So far, 1,309 people have been arrested in connection with the protests, which started on Monday last week.