Demo passes off without incident unlike another in the borough


Caroline Hartnell carried out her “Rebellion of One” outside Barclays in Putney

This Monday (14 November) the Wandsworth branch of the Extinction Rebellion movement held protests outside three branches of Barclays Bank in the borough.

On Putney High Street, Caroline Hartnell carried out a “Rebellion of One” protest wearing a placard saying, “I am terrified because Barclays is investing in the destruction of our beautiful planet.”

Four other XR Wandsworth members handed out leaflets to passers-by and to people going in and out of the bank, which detailed their claims about damage being done to the environment by Barclays and trying to persuade Barclays customers to switch their bank account to another UK bank.

“We are here to highlight Barclays Bank’s shocking record of fossil fuel funding,” said Caroline Osborne, a local resident.

A similar protest took place in Tooting, where eight members of XR Wandsworth gathered outside the bank and a large “End Fossil Fuels Now” banner decorated the railings by the pedestrian crossing.

There were no arrests at the protest in Putney

These two protests passed off without any major incident but at the Clapham Junction branch, four people were arrested. The words ‘We Fund Fossil Fuels’ were chalk-sprayed in large pink letters across Barclays’ window. Half an hour later a protester in a hazmat suit, who was standing in front of the spray-painted window, was arrested, handcuffed and taken away. Shortly afterwards three other people leafleting by the ATM were approached by the police, searched, arrested and handcuffed.

“It didn't look like any of them were given the option of leaving,” said local resident Steve Smith, who witnessed the arrests. “The only thing I saw any of the leafletters do was leaflet. As far I could see, nothing like chalk spray or superglue was found when they were searched.”

All four arrestees were held at Wandsworth police station. Three are members of Extinction Rebellion Wandsworth and one is from Extinction Rebellion Lambeth.

The three protests were part of a national day of action called by Extinction Rebellion against Barclays Bank, with thousands of protesters gathering at Barclays banks across the UK.

Extinction Rebellion says that Barclays is Europe’s and the UK’s biggest investor in tar sands, fracked oil and gas, coal power, and fossil fuels overall. They have invested almost £150 billion in fossil fuels since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

“The decisions that Barclays makes today will have a massive impact on the future of humanity,” said Caroline Osborne. “If the government refuses to hold them to account then we, the public, will have to do it ourselves.”

Barclays Bank says on its website, “Addressing climate change is an urgent and complex challenge. It requires a fundamental transformation of the global economy, so that society stops adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

“The financial sector has a critical role to play in supporting the economy to reach this goal. It is estimated that at least $3-5 trillion of additional investment will be needed each year, for the next 30 years, in order to finance the transition.

2At Barclays, we are determined to play our part. We believe that we can, and should, make a positive difference for society - globally and locally.

“In March 2020, we announced our ambition to be a net zero bank by 2050, becoming one of the first banks to do so.

“We are still at an early stage of our journey. We recognise there is a huge amount of progress still to make, but we are completely committed to achieving our ambition.”

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November 15, 2022