Police were accused of surrendering London’s streets to hundreds of eco-warriors last night.
Astonishingly, activists managed to seal off key thoroughfares for a third day and vowed to stay until their demands were met.
As officers were pictured strolling past drum-playing protesters blocking Waterloo Bridge to traffic, the Met said it had to respect the environmental campaigners’ right to protest.
Last night, Environment Secretary Michael Gove called for an end to the demonstrations, saying: ‘We’ve got the message’.
Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said: ‘[Police] should be clearing the streets so Londoners can get to work. Instead they have surrendered the streets to these people.’
Only late yesterday evening did officers mobilise in numbers to clear the blockades.
On one of UK’s busiest routes, officers stroll past eco-warriors who’ve paralysed London for three days – insisting they must respect protesters’ ‘rights’. No wonder police are accused of waving the white flag
After coming under increasing pressure, they swooped into Parliament Square – only for the activists to later return and continue banging drums and chanting ‘extinction rebellion’.
Since Monday, Waterloo Bridge has been totally closed to traffic in both directions, with protesters – orchestrated by the ecological campaign group Extinction Rebellion – planting trees, setting up vegan food stalls and chaining themselves to a truck.
In Oxford Circus protesters have taken over the streets, parking a bright pink boat on the main intersection. The protests have enraged many commuters and business owners.
More than 340 arrests have been made in the capital.
Last night, Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove, in charge the policing operation, insisted officers were doing ‘everything in their power’ to contain the protest.
He added: ‘The Met has a duty to balance the rights of those engaged in protest and who are acting within the law, against the needs and rights of Londoners to go about their daily lives with minimum disruption.’
Oxford Circus remains closed to traffic despite a police enforcement notice issued on Tuesday night
Waterloo Bridge has become the scene for yoga parties and a skateboard ramp despite police ordering crowds to disperse on Monday night
At around 8pm it finally appeared that officers were trying to clear the key sites.
But critics said they had treated the mostly peaceful protesters with a light touch and demanded action to take back the streets.
Tory MP Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, said: ‘Not absolutely convinced that our excellent Metropolitan Police are at present maintaining The Queen’s Peace on the streets of London. Absolutely unacceptable that our great city is being held to ransom.’
London mayor Sadiq Khan was criticised after praising the eco-warriors for their ‘co-operation’.
Last night, Mr Gove said those trying to raise awareness about climate change were ‘moved by high ideas’, but some of their actions had been ‘over the top’.In remarkable scenes across London:
■Activists mocked the law by returning to protest hours after being arrested;
■ Police custody cells were left full to bursting, amid claims that Scotland Yard had run out of space;
■ A protester attempted to disrupt train services by gluing himself to a carriage;
■Others glued themselves to the garden fence of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn;
■ Protesters carried out yoga classes on the car-free roads they had blockaded;
■Business leaders warned profits had slumped by £12million due to the protests
■ At least 55 bus routes were shut down and 500,000 commuters were affected;
■ Home Secretary Sajid Javid wrote to Met commissioner Cressida Dick to offer the force ‘whatever support it needs’.
Last on Wednesday large numbers of police finally arrived at the protestors’ locations
Extinction Rebellion, the Left-wing campaign group behind the demonstrations, has said its protests will escalate over two weeks if its demands are not met.
It wants the government to introduce a legally-binding policy to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025.
Tory MP Philip Davies described the situation as ‘a complete outrage’, adding: ‘It is about time the authorities got a grip and took whatever action is needed to clear them out of the way.’
Yesterday, train services were also disrupted in the city’s financial district Canary Wharf as an activist glued himself to one of the Docklands Light Railways carriages, while two others stood on the roof and unfurled a banner. Business owners said the protests have so far caused a £14million loss in takings.
There are fears that millions could be lost if the protests continue over the Easter bank holiday weekend. Taxi drivers said police had ‘failed in their duty’ to keep the roads open.
Commuters and tourists also complained their journeys had been hampered and that it was hypocritical for environmental campaigners to target public transport networks.
Many of the activists are grandparents, first-time protesters and middle-class workers who said they had flocked to the streets to highlight the ‘climate emergency’.
Dai Davies, who led the Met’s riot squad in West London in the early 90s, said last night: ‘The Met seems to have slightly been caught with their pants down’.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘The right to protest peacefully is a long-standing tradition in this country and a vital foundation of our democracy.’