MORE than 200 people were arrested yesterday as Extinction Rebellion protesters shut roads around the Houses of Parliament.
Scottish activists were amongst the crowds in London, where tents and banners were used to set up camps as part of a call for action against climate change.
Roadblocks on key roads and bridges stopped traffic, with a yoga classes held on Westminster Bridge.
Actors Mark Rylance and Juliet Stevenson were amongst the famous faces participating in the start of what is expected to be two weeks of action.
Some chained and glued themselves to buildings and vehicles as part of the move.
Organisers encouraged protesters to sit down and “be arrested” as police tried to them from one location.
And in the midst of the disruption, one couple held a wedding ceremony on Westminster Bridge, with a white-robed woman officiating.
Extinction Rebellion says the protests could be as much as five times bigger than those held in April, which caused major disruption to London and saw more than 1100 arrests.
It is part of an “international rebellion”, with action going on in cities like Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam and New York.
Hundreds of people took part in protests through Dublin, where a mock funeral procession moved though the city and a large pink boat was unveiled outside the heart of the Irish Parliament in Leinster House.
Addressing protesters in London, Rylance said: “People have been saying to me, it doesn’t make a difference having a celebrity joining the protests.
“But I want people to know climate change protesters aren’t hippies. I am confident these protests are going to lead to a solid change.”
And one protester, 69-year-old Londoner Caroline Hartnell, said activists were going to be surrounding all the Government ministries.
She said: “We are going to be putting pressure on them – what they are going to do mend the climate emergency, because we are running out of time?
“I have seven grandchildren and the youngest is three.
“I feel passionately for them, there is not going to be a world for them to live in.”
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