Emergency warning issued for Leeds as Extinction Rebellion plans 'civil disobedience' and disruption

Extinction Rebellion protesters in London earlier this year. (Credit: SWNS)

Police have issued an emergency warning to Leeds banks and businesses as Extinction Rebellion plan disruption on City Square.

The environmental campaigners plan to descend on Leeds from Monday, protesting against investment in the fossil fuel industry.

Protests will start at about 10am and are expected to last for five days.

Activists at a previous protest in Leeds.

1,000 protesters are 'willing to risk arrest' and 500 'willing to risk prison' for their actions across the country, the group claims.

In a statement sent out to businesses in Leeds, West Yorkshire Police warned that Extinction Rebellion protesters could cause significant disruption.

The police said that activists may target banks and other financial offices, using tactics including blocking roads, ‘lock-ons’, ‘glue-ons’, swarming, occupation of iconic sites.

Chief Inspector Richard Padwell said: "As you may be aware, environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion is planning five days of protest in Leeds from Monday, July 15 to Friday, July 19 as part of a national campaign that will see similar protests in Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol and London."The protestors’ tactics can include blocking roads, ‘lock-ons’, ‘glue-ons’, swarming, occupation of iconic sites and other non-violent direct action and civil disobedience."Depending on the numbers attending and their level of capability, the protests could cause significant disruption in and around Leeds city centre. Some intelligence suggests the financial sector, such as bank branches and other offices, could be a potential focus."An appropriate policing operation will be in place with the overall intention of working with partners to effectively manage people’s right to lawful protest, balanced with the rights and freedoms of others, and to minimise the impact on the local communities, businesses and the general public."We will be doing everything we can to minimise disruption but we appreciate that it only requires a relatively small number of motivated protestors to cause issues in the city centre."Given the nature of previous protests by this group, we do not anticipate any disorder beyond non-violent action and civil disobedience, so there should be no cause for anyone to be concerned for their safety."The organisers are engaging with us and we will aim to maintain dialogue throughout the week."We have already met with local business representatives this week and will be working to keep people informed and updated around any protest activity, associated disruption and our policing approach."We will be holding regular briefings throughout the week, as necessary, and messages and updates will be circulated via the BACIL network and Leeds BID. The Leeds City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team Twitter account @WYP_LeedsCity will also carry updates."We hope that by working together with our partners and the community, continuously reviewing the policing response in line with the type and level of activity on the ground, and keeping people informed, we can effectively manage people’s right to lawful protest while minimising any negative impact on the city centre."