By Ben Kerrigan-
Extinction Rebellion protesters have shut down Tower Bridge by abseiling off the sides of the London landmark.
Two activists were hanging from the bridge by suspension cords and have unfurled a huge banner that reads: “End fossil fuels now.”
The bridge, a main traffic artery across the Thames, is closed to vehicles, causing long queues. Activists from Extinction Rebellion hang from Tower Bridge on suspension cords beside a giant banner that reads ‘End fossil fuels now’ .
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the bridge at 7.30am and no arrests have been made.
Extinction Rebellion said: “The action has taken place at the gateway to the City of London – the root source of fossil fuel funding in the UK – and on the eve of the April Rebellion which begins tomorrow at 10am in Hyde Park.”
The action by Extinction Rebellion, which is calling for an end to all new fossil fuel infrastructure, comes after eight days of disruption at oil facilities by the group and the Just Stop Oil coalition.
The group plan to gather at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park every morning for a week or more, where there will be “regular trainings in nonviolent civil disobedience and resistance tactics” before marching into London to block parts of the city “for as long as possible”.
This morning’s act of protest comes eight days after the group and the Just Stop Oil coalition caused disruption at oil depots across the UK. The group have said their action will continue until the UK government meet their demands, adding that “there will be a decisive shift in tactics from nonviolent civil disobedience to civil resistance”.