Climate chaos protesters disrupt traffic with rush-hour roadblocks

Commuters faced disruption on Friday, as climate change campaigners blocked major London roads during rush-hour.

Extinction Rebellion Lewisham “swarmed” roads in the south-east of the capital in an attempt to put pressure on the Government over air quality.

Air pollution in the borough of Lewisham was found to be approximately six times higher than safe levels recommended by the World Health Organisation in 2017.

The recommended amount of PM2.5 particles, which can cause asthma and other respiratory problems, is 25 micrograms per cubic metre of air; however, highs of 150mg were recorded in Lewisham from October 2016 to September 2017

Some residents were supportive of the protest.

Graham, who also did not give his surname, did not take part in the action, but “applauded” Extinction Rebellion and called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to resign over pollution.

The Lewisham resident said: “I can’t see that they’re doing anything quickly about this problem.”

In November, Mr Khan called Lewisham’s air quality a “health crisis”.

Graham, a public body employee, added: “If people could see the pollution they would do something about it.

“It’s killing people but nobody seems to care.”

The death of a nine-year-old child who lived in the area is to be re-examined at an inquest, to determine whether it was linked to air pollution.

Ella Kissi-Debrah, who lived near the South Circular Road in Lewisham, died in 2013 after having an asthma attack.

Harry Gibson took part in Friday morning’s action, his second Extinction Rebellion protest.

He said: “The environment catastrophe will far outweigh the damage caused by a few roadblocks on a Friday morning.”

“We need to look to the future for future generations.”

Friday’s disruption was the latest in a series of actions by Extinction Rebellion.

Protests in Parliament Square, Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and Marble Arch led to road closures and traffic gridlock for 10 days in April.

More than 1,000 people were arrested after campaigners glued themselves to DLR trains and parked a boat in the middle of Oxford Circus.