Guest essay by Eric Worrall

Greta Thunberg has stated that rules must be broken if they stand in the way of climate action.

Greta Thunberg condemns ‘unlawful’ police ban on Extinction Rebellion climate change protest
‘If standing up for humanity is against the rules then the rules must be broken,’ says teenager

Chris Baynes, Jane Dalton (2 days ago)

Greta Thunberg has called on Extinction Rebellion demonstrators to defy a police order banning them from protesting across London.
The climate change activist spoke out before the group won the go-ahead to take legal action over the order, which has been condemned by human rights groups as unlawful.  

“If standing up against the climate and ecological breakdown and for humanity is against the rules then the rules must be broken,” Ms Thunberg wrote on her Instagram account.

…

A judicial review of the ban, which the group’s lawyers say is “disproportionate and unlawful” will be held on Thursday afternoon.

…

Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Liberty have also criticised the Metropolitan Police over the “heavy-handed” and “chilling” tactic.

Deputy assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said the ban had been imposed following “continued breaches” of a previous order, which restricted protesters to Trafalgar Square.

…

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, distanced himself from the police order and said he had asked senior officers to “find a way for those who want to protest the climate emergency we face to be able to do so legally”.

…

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/greta-thunberg-extinction-rebellion-protests-police-ban-climate-change-london-a9158191.html

The Thursday judicial review was deferred until next week, so Extinction Rebellion are still under a ban forbidding them to protest in London.

Extinction Rebellion London: Met Police ‘ban’ on protests will continue over weekend as judge delays judicial review

TRISTAN KIRK Courts correspondent (2 days ago) 

Scotland Yard’s controversial “ban” on the Extinction Rebellion protests will stand this weekend after a judge refused to hear a judicial review bid until next week.

…

Phillippa Kaufmann QC, representing a collection of activists including Green Party peer Baroness Jenny Jones and Guardian journalist George Monbiot, asked for a fast-tracked hearing  tomorrow to determine the case.

But Mr Justice Dingemans rejected the idea this afternoon, saying he was worried a judge could make a mistake if rushed into a decision.

“I’m wholly unconvinced this is a case where it is right to speed up the process as quickly as that”, he told the High Court this afternoon.

“These are important points, both for the complainants and the defendant, on the construction of a criminal statute.”

…

The effect of today’s ruling is that the section 14 order brought in by the Met this week to tackle the Extinction Rebellion ‘autumn uprising’ will continue to stand until 6pm on Saturday.

…

Read more: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/police-ban-on-extinction-rebellion-protests-will-continue-over-weekend-as-judge-delays-judicial-a4264301.html

Extinction Rebellion naturally had no respect for the law, and defied the ban, resulting in at least 1760 arrests including the arrest George Monbiot (the video shows Monbiot laughing as he is dragged away by police – all a big joke to him).

This is not about banning freedom of assembly. The British police appear to have done everything in their power to accommodate Extinction Rebellion’s ongoing right to protest. The rule does not prevent Extinction Rebellion from holding protests elsewhere. All the police asked is that Extinction Rebellion structure their London protests in such a way as to allow ordinary people to continue going about their normal business, a request Extinction Rebellion repeatedly ignored.

Trafalgar Square, where police asked Extinction Rebellion to protest, is one of the most prominent landmarks in London, an important nexus in London’s road system. If you want to cross London Bridge there is a good chance you will drive past Trafalgar Square. Thousands of people see Trafalgar Square every day. But Extinction Rebellion have so far refused to compromise, even a little.

As for Greta Thunberg, she is now on record publicly inciting people to break the law.

Perhaps it is time for President Trump to review whether he really wants a rabble rousing foreigner who has no qualms about inciting mass law breaking and civil disorder running around the USA.

Update (EW): Amended “Hundreds of thousands” of people see Trafalgar Square every day to “Thousands”. “Hundreds of thousands” is probably an over-estimate.