Climate change protest on Parliament continues

20 protesters remain on the roof of Westminster Hall after arrests were made
Activists plan to continue their occupation of the roof of Parliament for a second day to raise awareness in the run up to the Copenhagen climate change conference this December.

Yesterday 54 demonstrators faced little police resistance as they scaled Westminster Hall using ladders and ropes, before setting up an overnight camp. 23 protesters climbed down after almost five hours and were promptly arrested for trespassing on a "protected site." Those who remain have vowed to stay throughout Monday in order to confront MPs returning from Parliament's summer recess.

Activsts plan to urge them to sign up to a 12-point manifesto that calls for a commitment to zero carbon emissions by 2030, as well as an end to airport expansion and further investment in renewable energy.

Their slogan is: "Change the politics, save the climate," seen on numerous flags and banners displayed from the roof.

Greenpeace denied the protest was dangerous and said the organisation was dismayed at the absence of attention to climate change at the party conferences. Executive director John Sauven said politicians had failed to come up with any concerete proposals thus far despite their strident rhetoric.

"They have got to act more seriously on the issue," he told the BBC. "It is missing from the political agenda and we have got to get it on the political agenda. That is why we are here."

Anna Jones, 28, a full-time Greenpeace activist from Headingley, Leeds, said from the roof this morning that direct action was necessary and effective. "Climate change is the biggest challenge we are facing. It takes action like this to make the politicians wake up. They are letting us down and letting down citizens around the world."

The relative ease with which protesters accessed Parliament has raised further security concerns after several high profile breaches in recent years.

The Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: "There is understandable concern about the need to move faster and more effectively to tackle climate change, and Greenpeace are right to seek to protest in a peaceful way. But I would have preferred it if they had not done it by breaching the House of Parliament.

"It shows that things are not as they should be in security terms. The House authorities really need to sort this out."


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