THE BLAME DAME
Emma Thompson blames POLICE for ‘wasting taxpayer money’ tackling Extinction Rebellion eco-warrior protests
DAME Emma Thompson yesterday blamed police for "wasting taxpayers' money" by tackling the Extinction Rebellion protests which have caused misery for Londoners.
The Oscar-winning actress, 60, defended the illegal demonstrations at sites like Oxford Circus - where she joined protesters on a pink boat blocking traffic on the busy shopping street.
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Facing accusations that the demos were wasting valuable police time, Dame Emma told the : "We didn't ask for police resources, that is their decision. It's not like we are burning things down.
"The police turned up because they have been asked to turn up.
"They decided to spend their money in this way, which I personally think is a waste of taxpayers' money.
"We aren't doing anything violent."
Her outburst came as organisers promised to hold picnics on motorways over the busy Easter weekend.
Even bigger demonstrations are feared - with greater turnout prompted by the good weather and the airing of a David Attenborough documentary on climate change on Thursday.
After more than 680 arrests, Scotland Yard warned that resources were being stretched to breaking point as mass demonstrations run into their sixth day today.
MISERY FOR LONDONERS
Businesses around Oxford Street are thought to have lost tens of millions in revenue from the pink boat demo.
The illegal protest sparked travel chaos throughout Central London before the boat was eventually dismantled yesterday after 100 hours.
Protesters who had glued and chained themselves to the vessel were eventually cut loose before being rounded up by officers.
The Metropolitan Police had come under intense criticism by Londoners after they appeared to take a light-touch approach to the demonstrations earlier this week.
Waterloo Bridge was overrun by activists who set up a make-shift camp on what is among the capital's busiest thoroughfares.
Another illegal demonstration took place at Parliament Square opposite Westminster - while hundreds have taken part in a legal gathering at Marble Arch.
FLIGHT 'HYPOCRISY'
Earlier, Dame Emma defended her decision to fly 5,400 miles to join the Extinction Rebellion eco-warriors who massed in Central London on what was the fifth day of protests yesterday.
She jetted business-class from LA and arrived at Heathrow on Wednesday to add her to support to the climate-change demonstrations crippling the capital.
But dungaree-wearing Dame Emma insisted that her conscience is clear - because she plants a lot of trees.
She told the BBC: "Unfortunately, sometimes I have to fly.
"But I don’t fly nearly as much as I did because of my carbon footprint.
“And I plant a lot of trees.”
Unfortunately, sometimes I have to fly. But I don’t fly nearly as much as I did because of my carbon footprint. And I plant a lot of trees.
Emma Thompson
The Love Actually star said “I bloody don’t" fly economy to reduce her carbon footprint, as she was "far too old for that" - but recognised she may be accused of hypocrisy.
Dame Emma added: “One of the things that has happened, consistently, over the decades I’ve been protesting about this is it’s always turned back on the individual.
“The fact of the matter is everyone has been asking for clean energy for decades and it has been ignored for decades.
“So where is the hypocrisy? If I could fly cleanly I would.”
Earlier yesterday, around 20 young demonstrators sobbed at Heathrow after the climate-change group vowed to close down Britain’s biggest airport.
And police also stormed Waterloo Bridge to lead away demonstrators as they tried to block the road.
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'TINY ISLAND OF SANITY'
At least 682 Extinction Rebellion activists have been arrested since Monday - with police last night admitting they were running out of cell space to hold them all.
The protest group had planned a “Day of Love” march from London’s Eros Statue at Piccadily Circus to Oxford Circus.
Speaking from on board the pink boat before it was dismantled, Dame Emma said: “We are here in this little island of sanity and it makes me so happy to be able to join you all and to add my voice to the young people here who have inspired a whole new movement."
She told reporters she was at the demo as her generation had failed to protect the planet for young people.
'WE HAVE FAILED YOUNG PEOPLE'
Dame Emma, who had also joined demonstrators on Thursday, added: "We have seriously failed them and our planet is in serious trouble, we have much, much less time than we thought.
"I have seen the evidence for myself and I really care about my children and grandchildren enough to want to be here today to stand with the next generation.
“If you can't have fun whilst saving the planet, what's the point?"
Protest should always have a sense of joy in it because what we are protesting about is saving this extraordinary home of ours
Dame Emma Thompson
"Protest should always have a sense of joy in it because what we are protesting about is saving this extraordinary home of ours and also celebrating the passion and inspiring energy of this young generation.
"These are young people who have finally said to my generation 'I'm so sorry but you have failed us'.
"We all feel dreadful about that.
"My feeling is I feel massively inspired by this young generation and want to stand next to them."
Shortly after Dame Emma's speech cops circled the boat and told bystanders there was an order to clear the area.
It is estimated that a single 5,456-mile transatlantic flight between Los Angeles and London Heathrow would run up a three-tonne carbon footprint.
ACTOR 'PROUD'
Thompson posted a video on social media to pledge her support to the group.
She donned denim dungarees and a green sticker of the Extinction Rebellion symbol in front of an inflatable plastic elephant.
The Bafta-award winning actress explained that she would have joined the protest earlier but she had been busy celebrating her 60th birthday.
She added: "I am so proud and thrilled to be part of Extinction Rebellion, a new movement that has come up behind all the old ones that I’ve been part of since I was 16 years old.
"A movement that’s telling it like it is and saying to government ‘look, there’s no more time. You can’t lie and you can’t stall any longer'."
Many protesters involved in the march have demanded that the Government limit how many times individuals can fly each year.
A spokesperson for Dame Emma said: "She had to fly home at any rate, it was just earlier than she thought she could have.
"At the moment, that is our only available and practical means of trans-global travel."
MOST READ IN NEWS
Robin Boardman-Pattison, ringleader of the movement, declared during a TV interview this week that flying "should only be used in emergencies" despite appearing to travel extensively.
An Extinction Rebellion spokesman said: “If Emma Thompson wants to come and help out, that’s great, she’s using her platform which is incredibly valuable to anyone.
"If she has to fly around the world like a climate lawyer might have to fly around the world, it seems counter-productive in the short term but we are looking at the bigger picture."
Sir David shows the way
SIR David Attenborough was hailed for his TV climate change call to arms this week, with viewers calling it the real way to make people notice.
Fans said Thursday’s passionate BBC show, Climate Change — The Facts, did more than Extinction Rebellion’s disruptive protests.
The show, watched by 3.34 million people, outlined the crisis facing the planet using the quiet authority of Sir David, 92, left.
Independent MP Anna Soubry wrote online: “This is how you win change — by making the argument based on evidence, not clogging up our great capital #London.”
Sir David told viewers: “In the 20 years since I first started talking about the impact of climate change, conditions have changed far faster than I ever imagined.
“It may sound frightening, but the scientific evidence is that without dramatic action, we could face irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies.”
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