Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters have attracted widespread criticism for their ‘profoundly disrespectful’ Remembrance Day gesture of placing a wreath with the words ‘Climate change means war’ on the Cenotaph in London’s Whitehall.
Unveiled a century ago, the monument was created as a tribute to the British soldiers who fell in the First World War. The annual Remembrance Day commemoration – scaled back this year because of Covid-19 – has become a day of remembrance for all soldiers who have died in war since the Great War.
The climate change protesters also unfurled a banner bearing the words: ‘Honour their sacrifice, climate change means war.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the protest was ‘profoundly disrespectful’.
Veterans minister Johnny Mercer said: ‘Climate change matters, but the Cenotaph on Armistice day should be about one thing only – showing our respect for the sacrifice of the fallen who died to protect our freedoms today.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman told journalists: ‘No-one can doubt how serious the climate crisis is but the protests at the Cenotaph today were wrong and we do not support them.’
A spokesman for the Royal British Legion said: ‘While we respect the right of others to express their opinions within the law, we believe the Poppy Appeal is a time for remembrance, and not for political protest.”
Veteran journalist Leo McInstry, wrote that the protest was deeply distasteful.
McInstry also noted: ‘It seems that the police treat protesters differently according to the cause they support. Last week, police took a zero-tolerance approach to anti-lockdown protesters, making over 100 arrests… But not all protesters are punished. In June, when Black Lives Matter protesters broke the lockdown, police supported the protests by ‘taking the knee’ in front of them.”
He said it took the police nearly two hours to remove the XR wreath from the Cenotaph.