Arrests made as Extinction Rebellion activists douse Barclays office in oil
Extinction Rebellion activists have doused the Barclaycard headquarters in fake oil to protest against the bank’s fossil fuel investments.
Green rabble rousers from Extinction Rebellion Midlands climbed the outside of the Barclaycard headquarters in Northampton to erect a banner which read “better without Barclays” while oil was used to cover the foyer and exterior of the building. Police have made four arrests at the scene and are holding suspects in custody.
“Police were called to Barclays Bank in Pavilion Drive, Northampton, at about 11am this morning (March 14) to reports of a protest,” a spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police told City A.M..
“Four people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and remain in police custody at this time,” the spokesperson added.
Activists said they targeted Barclays because the bank invests billions of pounds into the fossil fuel industry.
“We are here today to ask Barclays to stop funding Fossil fuel,” activist Phyllis Lake said in comments to Chronicle Live.
“They say that they are cutting out their fossil fuel funding, they say that they are going green, but in actual fact that’s just not happening,” Lake added.
According to Market Forces Barclays has issued $145bn of financing for fossil fuel since the year the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, making the bank the biggest financier of fossil fuels in Europe and the seventh-largest in the world.
“In 2020 Barclays invested $20bn in fossil fuels,” said a spokesperson for XR. “While everyone was worried about paying their bills Barclays was investing in fossil fuel and making big profits.”
At today’s protest activists even made it inside the building, staging a protest which saw two campaigners dressed in suits and top hats play a copy of the game Monopoly, dubbed Catastrophe, in the foyer.
