In a statement, the London Metropolitan Police said they were called to London City Airport at 5.40 a.m., where they said nine protesters had “erected a tripod and have locked themselves together on the runway.”

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The police also said that nine people had been arrested and taken into custody. According to British media reports, all of the protesters were white. The group said it was protesting what it called global environmental problems that are disproportionately confronting black communities.

The British branch of the Black Lives Matter movement, which held its first major protests in Britain last month, claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s demonstration. They explained their reasons for the protest in a series of statements on social media, saying that "climate crisis is a racist crisis."

They also said that “At London City Airport a small elite is able to fly, in 2016 alone 3,176 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean #Shutdown.”

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The Black Lives Matter movement began in response to perceived police brutality against African Americans. But it has been branching out to other countries — such as the Britain, Canada, Brazil and France — and the movement has focused on different issues in different countries. In Britain, the focus has been on climate change as well as law enforcement officers disproportionately targeting black people.

London City Airport announced around noon local time that they had resumed operations.

There will likely be much discussion in Britain over the tactics the protesters used on Tuesday. Last month, the group blocked access to a road leading to Heathrow Airport.

London City Airport is surrounded by water, leading some to suggest that the demonstrators used a rubber dinghy or swam across the River Thames.