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Extinction Rebellion’s founding fathers from Gloucestershire say they have done nothing wrong by claiming expenses for organising mass actions in London and actually raise cash for the group.

This weekend the climate change group which is occupying Parliament Square in London has come under fire from several newspaper articles, one of which looked at it’s finances.

According to The Mail on Sunday hundreds of thousands of pounds are being collected from sympathisers across the world such as the rock band Radiohead which gave £250,000 and billionaire Sir Christopher Hohn who donated £50,000.

The article claims that Gail Bradbrook, the godmother of the movement from Stroud, requested payments of £600 a month and co-founder Roger Hallam asked for £300 a week.

(Image: PA)

They detail the claims of others who make films and run publicity campaigns for the group and claim there are concerns about the Inland Revenue looking closely at their accounts.

But Extinction Rebellion say most volunteers are unpaid and those who give their lives for the cause should be able to claim ‘voluntary living expenses (VLR) to cover basic costs.

(Image: PA)

Mum of-two Gail Bradbrook told GloucestershireLive: “I’m self-employed and pay tax. In fact I pay tax before HMRC asks for it.

“I can earn in two and a half days what I receive from XR for a month. I do this as a service to Life on Earth , not for money.

“I do just have some bills to pay. It’s a shame the MoS isn’t focussing more on the massive existential threat. The biggest crisis humanity ever faced.”

She added: "I've twice been personally offered £1,000 to do give talks and both times I made sure the money went straight to XR."

(Image: PA)

XR say the Stroud scientist is not the only who has had to give up a well-paid career to further the climate cause and described attacks on them for claiming expenses as “low”.

“We own our actions and hold our hands up high,” said the statement.

“These expenses allow people to commit themselves to Extinction Rebellion to do so in a sustainable way, without being depleted financially, plus also ensuring that it is not just those in more comfortable financial situations who can contribute.”

(Image: PA)

Another document released in the national press claims the movement is worried about being too white and middle class and wants to attract a more diverse range of people to dilute the core supporters seen as hippies and left-leaning Guardian readers. It fears the policy of arrests puts off members of the black community.

But the group says it knows it's membership flaws and is working hard to address them.

The group is planning a hunger strike tomorrow and will now hold a vigil outside Rupert Murdoch’s HQ near London Bridge on Wednesday evening .

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The say full details of the group’s finances are on their website here and in the group’s FAQs .

Extinction Rebellion has issued official replies to 13 points raised about them in the national press over the weekend. This is what they say:

1 Extinction Rebellion has considered contacting HMRC about whether paid volunteers will have to pay tax on their income and pay national insurance contributions

Yup! We asked for some professional independent advice on payment of financial support and expenses to volunteers. Turns out that in most cases no tax is payable and, where it is, those of us who receive financial support or expenses will be advised to declare any relevant income in our tax returns.

2 Extinction Rebellion could face a significant bill from HMRC for failing to pay tax on expenses

From the advice we received it doesn’t look like we’ll have a liability to HMRC. It’s just going to be a matter of continuing to seek advice so that we ensure we remain compliant with UK legislation any pay any tax we owe.

3 Compassionate Revolution Ltd is a registered company used for all XR activity. This company paid activists £152,000 to activists from the beginning of March to the end of June this year

The figure provided isn’t correct but we’re happy to confirm that the figures for the same period - which we have published in full transparency on our website - were £72,449.

4 Extinction Rebellion allegedly spent £50,000 on European election candidacies.

Not true. Nine supporters of Extinction Rebellion including our co-founder, Roger Hallam, entered the European Elections as independent candidates in London and the South West. No Extinction Rebellion finances or logistical support was provided.

5 Compassionate Revolution has a bank balance of over half a million pounds

Not quite! Total balances of the Compassionate Revolution Ltd accounts (as at 11 October) were £371,286.

6 A new company called Climate Emergency Action has been set up to allow funds from charitable sources to be ring-fenced for legal activity

Right again! Thanks to the kindness of philanthropists who share our fear for the future, a new not-for-profit company has been established which now owns Compassionate Revolution Ltd. The new company rules include an ‘asset lock’ which means that any funds received can only be used for not-for-profit purposes and this applies to Compassionate Revolution as well.

7 Extinction Rebellion is actively considering a restructuring proposal by Nonviolent Global Liberation ltd which will cost £3million

It’s true that the movement has worked with Nonviolent Global Liberation (NGL) (almost entirely unpaid) since Autumn 2018 and in July received a proposal and a quote of £3m. No decision has been made to accept the proposal for which funding would need to be identified.

8 A European training tour was planned at the cost of £5000

Several volunteers from Extinction Rebellion UK travelled to meet with environmental groups and national Extinction Rebellion groups in Europe to explain aspects of UK’s organisation. Travel, living expenses for these individuals were reimbursed and some money went to venue hire too. A figure of £5,000 sounds about right.

9 There was a proposal for training for the Regeneration group – including a workshop called ‘the food journey’ at the cost of £1000 for five three-hour sessions.

Yes that proposal was made back in April. The workshops actually ended up being delivered free of charge.

10 There seems to be some conflict within Extinction Rebellion over its lack of diversity.

It is important that there is conflict within Extinction Rebellion over lack of diversity. We live in a racist system, and Extinction Rebellion and the people within it are not separate from that system. Conflict is the tool by which deeper understanding might be found.”

11 The image of being hierarchy free is not entirely accurate. Some members have disproportionate power.

We are a decentralised organisation – anyone can do things in the name of Extinction Rebellion if they agree with and adhere to our principles and values – people don’t need anyone’s permission on that basis. Power is invested in roles through the use of mandates rather than held by people.

12 Extinction Rebellion has considered actions that include a ‘European pause’ planning to shut down numerous European airports.

The movement has discussed, at length, whether or not to support the Heathrow Pause action, and decided to neither condone nor condemn it. It is likely there were discussions about a ‘pause’ at other European airports but we would not expect a different outcome to that reached for the Heathrow Pause.

13 Extinction Rebellion has had multiple meetings with Labour’s shadow treasury team including one last month.

Extinction Rebellion has had many meetings with numerous politicians of different political parties since it began. They include John McDonnell, Sadiq Khan and Michael Gove (twice!). We announced these meetings on our website. Clive Lewis was in attendance at our People’s Assembly in Parliament on Tuesday.