London: Extinction Rebellion climate change activists have won a legal challenge in London's High Court against a police-imposed blanket ban on protests during its 'Autumn Uprising' in the British capital during October.

The court said separate gatherings, even if coordinated by one organisation, could not be defined as a single "public assembly" and the officer who set the ban was not present at the scene.

Police officers stand around Extinction Rebellion activists during a demonstration outside the Bank of England last month. Credit:Bloomberg

Therefore barring any Extinction Rebellion protest in London other than at Trafalgar Square was unlawful and would be quashed, it said.

Extinction Rebellion blocked roads, targeted financial institutions, sprayed paint on the government's Treasury and disrupted transport during two weeks of direct action.