6 arrested after Extinction Rebellion protesters dump manure outside Daily Mail offices

Six people have been arrested after Extension Rebellion protesters dumped manure outside the offices of the Daily Mail newspaper in London.

Protesters from the environmental protest group gathered in Parliament Square before marching through London carrying placards, waving flags and chanting as part of a “free the press” demonstration.

At a glance: 5 key points

- The Metropolitan Police said a group of protesters emptied manure from a truck outside a property in Young Street, Kensington, at around 6.40am on Sunday (27 June).

- Extinction Rebellion said it had made a “surprise visit” to Northcliffe House, the head office of the newspaper’s owners Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), and claimed to have dumped seven tonnes of horse manure outside the main entrance.

- Police said five people were arrested for an offence under Section 148 of the Highways Act, with four of the five also arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage.

- The Met also said a 54-year-old man attempted to empty maure from from a truck onto the pavement outside a commercial premises in Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, at around 8am. He was arrested for an offence under Section 148 of the Highways Act and on suspicion of dangerous driving.

- All six people who have been arrested currently remain in police custody.

What’s been said

Police said the group had climbed on scaffolding outside the building on Young Street and hung banners from it and later tried to visit the building which is home to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, but were stopped before more manure could be dumped.

The action comes as Extinction Rebellion launched a “day of protest” targeting the “four billionaire owners of 68 per cent of the UK’s print media”.

The group has demanded an end to “media corruption” which they claim “suppresses the truth from the public for profit”.

Speaking for the group, Gully Bujak said: “For the British public, who’ve seen the criminal behaviour of this Government and their ‘cronies’ throughout the pandemic, the conclusion must surely be clear: the arenas of power in this country are rotten, and where the billionaire-owned press is concerned – corruption is the business model.

“It’s time they cut the crap and stop acting as though they are providing a noble service to the public, while greenwashing the climate crisis and stoking the culture war to divide people.”

Elsewhere on Sunday, thousands of people marched along Regent Street during a #FreedomToDance march organised by Save Our Scene.

People came out in protest at the perceived Government disregard for the live music industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

Background

Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement which uses nonviolent civil disobedience to compel the Government to take action to halt mass extinction.

The group aims to raise awareness of climate change, biodiversity loss, and minimise the risk of social and ecological collapse.

The group was officially established in the UK in May 2018, with around one hundred academics signing a call to action in support in October 2018.

Several activists in the movement have faced arrest and imprisonment following demonstrations carried out to tackle climate change.

The group uses a symbol with a circled hourglass, known as the extinction symbol, as a warning that time is running out for many species.

The protest on Sunday (27 June) comes following another targeted demonstration against the media earlier in September, when a printing press blockage left some newsagents’ shelves empty.

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