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Newark branch of Extinction Rebellion stage 'die-in' outside Barclays Bank




Protesters in funeral dress from the Newark branch of Extinction Rebellion staged a 'die-in' outside Barclays Bank in the Market Square on Saturday to draw attention to the bank's investments in fossil fuel extraction and exploration.

After gathering at Newark Castle dressed in dark suits, bowler hats and with white painted 'death mask' faces, the 16 protesters processed through the town centre to Barclays, where initial attempts to stage their lie-down protest inside the bank were repelled by security staff.

Extinction Rebellion spokesman Simon Tilley, from the Hockerton Housing Project, said Barclays customers needed to be aware of the bank's activities and should switch to a more ethical bank: "Barclays have funded or invested £85 billion in fossil fuel companies, £24 billion of which was for discovering new reserves."

Extinction rebellion protest Newark Market Place. (15415111)
Extinction rebellion protest Newark Market Place. (15415111)

He said that a report published this year by the Rainforest Action Network found that "Barclays is the worst bank in Europe for this and the sixth-worst in the world. The figures are astronomical.

"Even if we make our climate change targets, there will be a three degree temperature rise, which means millions of people displaced through famine and flooding. It's a catastrophe.This is about getting the message out to the media and getting the government to recognise the critical nature of the problem.

"According to the UN's International Panel on Climate Change, we have to get our carbon emissions down by next year – and they're still going up."

Extinction rebellion protest Newark Market Place. (15415113)
Extinction rebellion protest Newark Market Place. (15415113)

On being denied access to the bank by a Barclays security guard the protestors offered no resistance and moved outside. In front of the bank some protestors lay down as if dying while passers-by were addressed with the reasons for their protest. Branches of Barclays all over the country were targeted by local ER groups.

Speaking through a megaphone Dr Helena Clements told Newark shoppers that they were lying down for precisely 11 minutes: "The 11 minutes is to signify that we have 11 years left to give our children and our grandchildren a future... We're ordinary people who feel we have to act for them.

"Barclays is the worst bank in Europe for investing in fossil fuels, including fracking and shale gas. We need to act and we need to act now. Newark and Sherwood have declared a climate emergency but there's no action. We need them to act as well. None of us is perfect. We all need to make changes."

Public reaction was split between admiring the stand taken to labelling the protestors "pathetic", as one unsympathetic passer-by called out.

Extinction rebellion protest Newark Market Place. (15415114)
Extinction rebellion protest Newark Market Place. (15415114)

Market shopper Cate Brimblecombe-Clark said: "I think the protest is needed. Whether or not people are going to take notice is another matter."

Ollerton town councillor and retired district councillor Mr Benjamin Wells said the protest had made him think about the issue but he was not totally convinced: "To my mind its nature taking its course. We had the ice age thousands of years ago and now you might call it overheating. I've got my doubts about whether it's man-made but I don't think man is helping... Nature is telling us how bad we are being in the world today."

Another passer-by, who refused to give his name, reacted more angrily: "This is garbage. You can't tell me that not one of them has got a gas fire or a coal fire. It's just hypocrisy."

Mr John Blackamore, who recently moved to Newark from Kent, said: "Peaceful protest is fair enough.They're not violent and they're not closing banks, and in general climate change is something we ought to be concerned about.

A spokesman for Barclays commented: “We recognise that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today, and are determined to do all we can to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, while also ensuring that global energy needs continue to be met.

“We continue to develop our green products suite and in 2018 we facilitated £27.3bn in social and environmental financing across our business, including green bonds and renewable financing.”

The Advertiser also asked Newark and Sherwood Council for a comment. We await their response.



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