Extinction Rebellion protests: Police 'discriminated against disabled campaigners' and made 'unnecessarily aggressive arrests', report finds

The Met Police discriminated against disabled campaigners during the Extinction Rebellion protests and made "unnecessarily aggressive arrests", a police body report has found.

An independent report by Netpol: The Network for Police Monitoring assessed the police response to the XR action in central London between October 28 and November 3.

The “Restricting the Rebellion” report found that the police “systematically discriminated against disabled protesters by failing to meet their needs.”

It also questioned the police’s controversial use of Section 14 powers to limit the protests, which was ruled unlawful by the High Court on November 6.

The report found the use of these powers was disproportionate and unreasonable and sought to criminalise what the police saw as an “illegal” movement, rather than judging protesters on their individual actions.

Sam Walton, from Netpol, said the report highlights concerns raised "over the last decade" around how protests are policed.

"This report highlights concerns we have raised repeatedly over the last decade about a token commitment by the police to genuinely facilitating the right to protest," he said.

"The Extinction Rebellion protests in October 2019 were undoubtedly disruptive, but they were also a non-violent attempt to encourage the public to recognise the scale of the climate emergency and force the government to act.

"However, the police’s zero-tolerance approach escalated into unnecessarily aggressive arrests, a disregard for protesters’ welfare and eventually to the unlawful use of police powers."

Green Party peer Baroness Jenny Jones said in a statement: “I am shocked in particular by the absolute disregard for the welfare and rights of disabled protesters, as well as those who are elderly and less physically robust.

“Based on their experiences outlined in this report, I fully support the call for an urgent review of how, in future, the police facilitate disabled people’s right to protest and how disabled protesters are treated on arrest.”