A distressed dad has broken down on camera as he lay on the ground at a climate change rally, admitting he was “frightened” for his kids.
A dad has sobbed on camera at the Extinction Rebellion rally in London, revealing he was “very frightened” for the future of his young children.
The father-of-two clutched a photograph of his kids as he lay on the street during the demonstrations that are taking over the streets of the UK capital, The Sun reports.
Hundreds of people have taken over the city’s roads as they demand action on climate change — with the dad saying he was there to stand up for his young children’s future.
The dad was lying on the ground when he was asked what his name was, but instead replied: “I’m just a father-of-two children that’s very frightened of their future.”
He then took out a picture showing a little child and baby — holding it up as he wept.
Londoners braced for a second day of travel hell yesterday as Extinction Rebellion protesters set up tents across the city, closing off major roads and bridges.
And it’s only going to continue, with yesterday the first day in a fortnight of action.
Earlier this week, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed the protesters as “uncooperative crusties” who should abandon their “hemp-smelling bivouacs” and stop blocking roads.
Speaking at a launch of Charles Moore’s biography about Margaret Thatcher, he said: “The best thing possible for the education of the denizens of the heaving hemp-smelling bivouacs that now litter Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park would be for them to stop blocking the traffic and buy a copy of Charles’s magnificent book so that they can learn about a true feminist, green and revolutionary who changed the world for the better.”
Mr Johnson said he had been advised by his security staff not to attend last night’s book launch “because they said the road was full of uncooperative crusties and protesters of all kinds littering the road”.
The Met Police arrested 319 activists in one day — far more than the 122 figure of arrests made during the first day of the April protests.
Among the activists in Trafalgar Square were celebrities including model Daisy Lowe, comedian Ruby Wax and actors Juliet Stevenson and Mark Rylance.
“The collapse of society is certain,” Rylance said in a speech to the crowd.
Specialist officers cut some of the protesters out of a car parked outside the Ministry of Defence.
Two women were married on Westminster Bridge at a ceremony watched by about 100 protesters, who sang hymns and said a prayer.
But not everyone was pleased with the day of action — with some arguing the UK was cutting carbon emissions faster than any other G7 nation.
Over the next fortnight, protesters will also target London City Airport, which they will attempt to hold for three days.
Those behind the protest admitted their action could have an impact on St Thomas’s hospital, which sits on the opposite bank of the Thames from the Houses of Parliament.
When asked whether they were worried about disruption at the hospital, activist Savannah Lovelock said they were “really sorry … but we are running out of time”.
