The Metropolitan Police have spent nearly £14,000 on vegan meals for Extinction Rebellion activists in custody in the last year.
Many members of the group, also known as XR, got themselves deliberately arrested during demonstrations intended to bring attention to what they termed a climate and ecological emergency.
Between September 30 and October 17, a total of £4,651.09 was spent on vegan meals for activists in custody, according to a Freedom of Information request obtained by MailOnline.
Inspector Brian Smith of Brixton station revealed the force had ordered in extra vegan portions for the October protests after activists moaned about a lack of meat-free options in April. Inspector Smith poses with a selection of vegan and vegetarian portions for detainees inside the station’s cells
Pictured: Police lead an Extinction Rebellion protester away during central London demonstrations
Met Police have spent more than £13,000 on vegan meals for Extinction Rebellion activists in custody in the last year. Police are pictured detaining a protester during the Extinction Rebellion demonstration in Downing Street, central London,in October
Between September 30 and October 17, a total of £4,651 was spent on vegan meals for activists in custody, according to Freedom of Information requests obtained by MailOnline. Pictured: Police arrest an Extinction Rebellion activist near the gates of Downing Street in central London on October 8
| Period | Total amount spent |
|---|---|
| December 26 2018 – January 2 2019 | £295.68 |
| January 28 2019 – February 9 2019 | £215.04 |
| March 4 2019 – March 11 2019 | £775.68 |
| April 12 2019 – April 26 2019 | £3,228.00 |
| June 11 2019 – June 18 2019 | £791.04 |
| July 8 – July 19 2019 | £991.20 |
| August 16 2019 – August 23 2019 | £1,002.96 |
| September 5 2019 – September 19 2019 | £1,779.36 |
| September 30 2019 – October 17 2019 | £4,651.09 |
| TOTAL | £13,730.05 |
During the demonstrations, many members of the group, also known as XR, got themselves deliberately arrested to bring attention to what the group termed a climate and ecological emergency. Pictured: A police officer arrests an Extinction Rebellion member in Fleet Street, central London
This period coincides with Extinction Rebellion’s ten-day autumn uprising during which 1,832 people were arrested and more than 150 were charged for offences including criminal damage and obstruction of a highway.
Inspector Brian Smith of Brixton station revealed the force had ordered in extra vegan portions for the October protests after activists moaned about a lack of meat-free options in April.
XR’s tactics were to cause ‘maximum disruption’ and to overwhelm the capacity in police custody, including by refusing bail after being arrested.
One of the group’s stated aims was to ‘take police resources to breaking point’.
Between April 12 and April 26, police spent £3,228 on vegan meals for activists.
Officers carry an Extinction Rebellion member away from the Women of World War Two memorial in Whitehall, central London
Extinction Rebellion (pictured during protests in London) have won a High Court battle after its members were banned from demonstrating in the capital
In the group’s April protests activists glued themselves to DLR trains and broke windows at Shell’s London headquarters.
More than 1,100 people were arrested.
The group’s leader Roger Hallam branded the April protest – where activists stopped traffic at Oxford Circus, Waterloo Bridge and Marble Arch – the largest show of civil disobedience in modern British history.
The force spent £16 million policing XR protest action in April and £24 million on the October demonstrations.
In comparison, the annual budget for the Violent Crime Taskforce is £15 million.
Between July 8 and July 19, a total of £991.20 was spent on vegan meals alone and this rose to £1,002.96 between August 16 and August 23.
During the October protests, thousands of front line officers were moved away from their normal duties and deployed in central London during the two-week period, with the average length of the 21,000 shifts covered being 12.5 hours.
The demonstrations between October 5 and 16 saw 7,929 Met officers deployed, plus another 1,000 sent from 35 outside forces under the mutual aid system.
In November, the High Court ruled that Met Police’s ban on the group’s London-wide protest in autumn was unlawful, opening the floodgates for millions of pounds-worth of compensation claims.
Between April 12 and April 26, police spent £3,228 on vegan meals for activists. Pictured: Actress Emma Thompson attended the demonstrations in April
In the group’s April protests activists glued themselves to DLR trains and broke windows at Shell’s London headquarters. More than 1,100 people were arrested. Pictured: A climate change activist is arrested by police officers at Oxford Circus in April
Extinction Rebellion argued that the ban was an unprecedented and unlawful curtailment of the right to protest.
Lord Justice Dingemans and Mr Justice Chamberlain said the Met had no power to impose the ban because the Act does not cover ‘separate assemblies’.
Law firm Bindmans, which represented XR, said the Met now faces claims for false imprisonment from ‘potentially hundreds’ of protesters who were arrested after the ban was imposed.
Activists are being arrested during Extinction Rebellion climate change protests earlier this year
How much did the Met Police spend in Extinction Rebellion protests?
Policing the autumn Extinction Rebellion protests has so far cost the Met £24 million – and the bill is set to rise by several million, before any potential compensation payouts.
Thousands of front line officers were moved away from their normal duties and deployed in central London during the two-week period, with the average length of the 21,000 shifts covered being 12.5 hours.
The demonstrations between October 5 and 16 saw 7,929 Met officers deployed, plus another 1,000 sent from 35 outside forces under the mutual aid system.
Police arrest an Extinction Rebellion protester on Whitehall in central London on October 8
Frontline teams were moved from eight or 10 hour shift patterns to 12, allowing officers to be “abstracted” from their normal rotas to work on the protests.
The force said that it had to move 3,695 officers to backfill frontline response teams to stop them falling below minimum strength as the protests took place.
So far this year, the force has spent £16 million policing XR protest action in April and £24 million and counting on the Autumn Uprising.
In comparison, the annual budget for the Violent Crime Taskforce is £15 million.
The force will apply to the Home Office to ask it to cover the bill for policing the XR protests.
Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave refused to criticise the decision to use public order legislation to effectively ban the Autumn Uprising protests in central London, now found to be unlawful.
He said: “We would not and cannot ban protest. The condition at the centre of this ruling was specific to this particular protest, in the particular circumstances at the time.
“There is no criticism from me of the decision to impose the condition, which was made with good intent and based upon the circumstances confronting the command team at the time.
“It did in fact result in the reduction of the disruption. Nevertheless, this case highlights that policing demonstrations like these, within the existing legal framework, can be challenging.”