Olivia Colman and Stephen Fry wear Extinction Rebellion badges
Olivia Colman, Stephen Fry and Alan Carr all wear Extinction Rebellion badges to support eco-warriors who vow to shut down Westminster with TWO WEEKS of chaos from Monday
- Stars posed for a picture wearing Extinction Rebellion badges at the Royal Albert Hall last night
- They showed support for the eco-warriors along with comedian Asim Chaudry, and American actress Crystal Clarke
- It came just hours after ER activists sprayed gallons of fake blood at the Treasury building in central London
- The group has promised to bring disruption and disorder to Westminster with protests for the next fortnight
Some of Britain’s biggest showbusiness names are supporting Extinction Rebellion, who plan to bring Westminster to a standstill with protests next week.
The Crown’s Oscar-winning actor Olivia Colman, broadcaster, author Stephen Fry, and TV comic Alan Carr are among the stars who have backed the militants, who are planning to disrupt the heart of London from Monday.
ER plan to block all roads to Westminster as well as stage a sit in at City Airport to highlight their campaign against climate change.
The actors donned ‘ER’ badges at the Royal Albert Hall last night and were joined by comedian Asim Chaudry, and American actress Crystal Clarke.
The Crown’s Oscar winner Olivia Colman (centre) poses with Stephen Fry (far left), Alan Carr (far right), comic Asim Chaudry, and US actress Crystal Clarke last night wearing ER badges
Extinction Rebellion protesters yesterday sprayed the Treasury building in central London with fake blood using an old fire engine in their latest stunt to raise climate change awareness
Chaudry’s support for the protesters may land him in opposition to his paymasters British Airways, who have a fleet of aircraft operating from London City Airport.
He plays his popular character Chabuddy G on British Airways in-flight safety films with other stars such as Michael Caine, Joanna Lumley and David Walliams.
One of the main targets for protest by ER are airlines because of the impact they have on the environment.
ER activist Molly, who took the picture, said: ‘We appreciate the support of everybody and it is fantastic that these actors wore the badges on stage too.
Chaudry and Fry were at the Royal Albert Hall for an event where they wore the ER badges
‘They were really keen on supporting ER and said we were brave to have a campaign of civil disobedience which is non-violent.’
The actors were at the Royal Albert Hall at the Letters Live show where performers read letters across the centuries and from around the world for charity.
The protests are set to bring disruption to the centre of the capital as part of an ‘international rebellion’ around the world calling for urgent action on the climate and wildlife emergencies.
Ahead of next week’s protests, eight people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after activists sprayed the Treasury in central London yesterday with fake blood to protest against funding for fossil fuels.
The Met Police said five men aged between 34 and 83 and three women aged between 34 and 60 were arrested and the fire engine used to spray the liquid was seized and removed.
A fortnight of further action is planned with activists saying they plan to shut the streets leading to Westminster, targeting sites including Lambeth and Westminster Bridges and Trafalgar Square, each held by people from different parts of the country.
Colman and Carr (above) were all smiles at the Letters Live show in central London where performers read letters across the centuries and from around the world for charitable causes
Protests will also be held outside government departments, calling on them to outline what their plans are to tackle the climate emergency, with protests including a farming group with a pink tractor.
Other actions include processions, marches and a peaceful sit-in at City Airport where they will try to hold the space for three days.
The protesters say they have not yet decided if they will hold a silent vigil to mark a lack of action in the Queen’s Speech on October 14 or to try to shut it down.
Extinction Rebellion spokesman Joel Scott-Halkes said: ‘We are going to the Government and specifically what we’re going to do is sit down peacefully in the roads.
‘We’re going to blockade and shut down every single road going into the central area of Westminster around the UK Government.
‘We are going to very loudly, very clearly, very respectfully say that if a government is taking its people towards extinction, it is not a government anymore that we respect.’
Another spokesman Robin Boardman, 21, said it could be five times bigger than the protests which brought major disruption to London in April and saw more than 1,100 arrests,
As many as 20,000 to 30,000 people could be involved this time, he said.
While Met Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave has warned of the strain policing protests will put on the force, Mr Boardman said the protests were not about the police, ‘it’s about putting pressure on the Government’.
Major events are also planned around the world in Australia, in Europe – in Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam – and in the US in New York and Washington DC.
The stars posed for pictures showing their support for ER just hours after activists coated the government building in red liquid as part of their latest PR stunt to raise awareness
Protesters claim the government ‘only cares about economic growth’ and not the environment. They promised to bring chaos to the capital for a fortnight, starting on Monday
Workers had to walk through the liquid as they attempted to get into the building. ER says it will close roads and cause mayhem around Westminster next week
Extinction Rebellion is calling on the Government declare a climate and ecological emergency, act immediately to halt wildlife loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
They want to see the Government create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
Earlier in the year, Parliament declared a climate and environment emergency and the Government has passed a law to cut emissions to net zero by 2050, far later than the activists are demanding.
Mr Boardman said: ‘Right now we’re looking at a disastrous situation which demands so much radical action. It doesn’t demand the piecemeal action we’re currently seeing across the world.
‘It needs radical change to our system because currently what we’re looking at is accelerating destruction, ecosystems across the world being wiped out at rates that are rapidly increasing.
‘It highlights we are in a system that is criminally failing us, a system, economically, that cannot handle what is happening, it needs change in a dramatic way.’
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