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		</div><p>More than 600 people have been arrested during five days of climate change protests in central London, police have said.</p>
<p>Environmental campaign group Extinction Rebellion (XR) reignited its efforts to highlight the dangers of climate change this month after they were largely placed on hold by the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>In a series of daily actions, protesters have marched on Parliament Square, blocked roads, staged sit-ins and glued themselves to the ground.</p>
<p>It led the Metropolitan Police to impose conditions on where demonstrations could take place, while protesters were also warned they risked a large fine if they failed to comply with coronavirus rules banning gatherings of more than 30 people.</p>
<p>Scotland Yard also said on Saturday that 20 people had been reported for consideration of a £10,000 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for holding regulation-breaching gatherings representing a range of different causes.</p>
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<p>Police said the FPN reports related to demonstrations called “Resist the Government”, “Move One Million”, “The Ivory Coast Protest”, “Citizens’ Assembly Extinction Rebellion” and “The Lightship Greta procession”.</p>
<p>One penalty report relates to an anti-Government demonstration which took place in Trafalgar Square on August 30th, the Met said.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">There has been more than 600 arrests made in total since the protests began in London this week.</p>
<p>The “Lightship Greta” boat has been seized and taken away by officers whilst in Kennington Park Rd.</p>
<p>&mdash; MPS Events (@MetPoliceEvents) <a href="https://twitter.com/MetPoliceEvents/status/1302298848677818374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Commander Kyle Gordon, Gold Commander for the weekend’s policing operation, said protests had caused “serious disruption to local communities” in the past week.</p>
<p>He added: “Throughout this period we have become increasingly concerned the organisers of these events have not always taken all reasonable measures to limit the risk of transmission of coronavirus, thereby posing a risk, not only to those involved, but the wider public and communities of London.</p>
<p>“We remain in the middle of a pandemic and we all need to play our part in keeping each other and our communities safe.”</p>
<p>He said officers sought to enforce coronavirus legislation “as a last resort” and had proactively told event organisers of their “public health risk”.</p>
<p>Mr Gordon added: “I would appeal to anyone planning on organising a gathering to consider your responsibilities under the regulations, and to do all you can to help keep our communities safe.”</p>
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<p>On Saturday afternoon, an XR “Citizens Assemble!” gathering was dispersed by police in Trafalgar Square.</p>
<p>During the peaceful protest outside the National Gallery, activists sat on the ground and listened to speeches while surrounded by a large police presence.</p>
<p>Officers asked the group to move on, with most dispersing by around 2.30pm.</p>
<p>Some that refused to leave the area were carried or led away by police, including one man in handcuffs.</p>
<p>Darcy Mitchell, 45, from Bristol, told the PA news agency: “I’m here because scientists tell us that my children are going to see between three and five degrees of global warning in their lifetime.”</p>
<p>He warned this could lead to “mass starvation”, while young people were seeing the world “burning their future”.</p>
<p>Another 68-year-old protester, who only gave her name as Wendy, said she was concerned that “the planet is dying and we’re helping it to die”.</p>
<p>She said police had been “courteous”, but she was prepared to be arrested.</p>
<p>A 32-year-old protester, who asked to be identified as just Jason, claimed the Government was “completely ignoring” climate change.</p>
<p>“It’s not something that can wait any more. This whole thing is people power,” he said.</p>
<p>“I’m willing to be arrested, I’m willing to stand up for my rights and stand up for what I believe in.”</p>
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<p>Jason said “99%” of protesters were wearing masks and trying to social distance.</p>
<p>A five-a-side football match was also staged underneath nearby Nelson’s Column to highlight criticism of Barclays.</p>
<p>Protesters claimed the bank, a partner and former title sponsor of the Premier League, is the “largest funder of fossil fuels in Europe”.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, police said they had seized the “Lightship Greta”, a 20ft model boat named after teenage activist Greta Thunberg, in Kennington, south London.</p>
<p>The boat, bearing the words “Sound the alarm – Climate Emergency”, had been marched on foot from Brighton.</p>
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