Extinction Rebellion protesters march in swimwear to highlight ocean destruction

A man wearing only a tiny pair of swimming trunks and a face mask led a parade of blue-clad Extinction Rebellion protestors through the streets of central London earlier, to campaign against sea pollution. 

The environmental protest group kept up its relentless campaign of stunts and actions and highlighted the destruction of the world’s oceans by marching from Parliament Square.

More than 600 members of the group have been arrested in London since the protests began last weekend but today’s demonstrations passed off without major incident. 

The procession was led by a group of dancers wearing blue gowns to represent the sea and the man wearing only his swimwear, a yellow hat, trainers and a mask.

Members of the public appeared bemused as the procession, which featured several activists holding props representing dead sea life, moved past crowds along the South Bank.

Jan O’Malley, 74, from Clapham in south-west London, joined at Parliament Square.

She said: ‘I’m taking part because I have grandchildren, and they will soon have their own children, and I’m really worried about the impact on our future generations.

‘The Government has declared a climate emergency, but they are not taking enough action fast enough.’

For the last week, as part of a series of daily actions, protesters from the group have marched on Parliament Square, blocked roads, staged sit-ins and glued themselves to the ground.

Some newsagents’ shelves were left empty on Saturday after campaigners targeted Newsprinters’ printing works at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire and Knowsley, near Liverpool.

More than 100 demonstrators used vehicles and bamboo lock-ons to block roads outside the Newsprinters works on Friday, with both protests continuing until Saturday.

Merseyside Police said they had since charged 26 people with aggravated trespass following the Knowsley demonstration while Hertfordshire Police said they had taken 50 people into custody.

The Liverpool protestors will appear at Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrates’ Court and St Helens Magistrates’ Court on January 8 and 13 next year.

Police said all 26 have been granted bail under the condition they do not enter Merseyside or contact any News International employees.

The blockade prevented delivery vans from leaving presses which publish the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp titles including The Sun, The Times, The Sun On Sunday and The Sunday Times, as well as The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail and Mail On Sunday.

XR apologised to newsagents for the disruption but added it would not apologise to Mr Murdoch, calling on him to ‘stop suppressing the truth about the climate crisis and profiting from the division your papers create’.

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