Disrupting London trains was opposed by 72% of activists in poll, but has boosted coverage

The climate protests during which one activist was dragged from the roof of a London Underground train by angry commuters had been discussed within Extinction Rebellion [XR] for weeks.

But it was not until Wednesday morning, when a note was posted on the group’s website, that a decision appeared to have been taken.

In the hours that followed there was a sometimes fractious debate among XR supporters. More than 3,700 people responded to an online poll circulated on the group’s social media networks with 72% saying they were opposed to the action “no matter how it is done”.

Those findings were fed back to the decentralised groups planning the action on Wednesday afternoon and, according to one source, some backed down while others determined to press ahead.

Those opposed feared the action, taken against what they said were the wishes of the overwhelming majority, would demoralise activists and raised questions about the group’s democratic decision-making processes.

More fundamentally, they argued that the targeting of public transport – rather than roads, airports or financial institutions hit earlier in the week – confused their message.

“Our fear was that targeting public transport, an environmentally friendly way to travel, would alienate the public and muddle what we were trying to say in the minds of the public,” said one of those opposed to the action who did not want to be named.

There was also concern that by explicitly targeting working Londoners, they would undermine any public sympathy they had built up.

One activist told the Guardian: “We were vehemently opposed to it. We feel that the actions of a handful of protesters have jeopardised our movement, turning public opinion against us and creating a potential schism within our ranks.”

However, others saw the fallout from the action differently. They argued that the scale of the climate crisis requires disruption of “business as usual” to create “breakthrough moments that force people to engage with the reality of the climate crisis”.

They point out that although there have been more than 1,400 arrests for nonviolent action over the past two weeks, it was Thursday morning’s protests that prompted XR spokespeople to be invited onto television and radio programmes in record numbers.

“Our phones and inboxes have never been as busy,” said Ronan McNern from XR. “We have had people on radio and TV programmes this morning and have more lined up for this afternoon and this evening.”

He said despite more than 10 days of protests at sites across the capital the sense of a “real climate emergency” had struggled to cut through.

“This action has created a disruption. Now conversations will be going on about what we are doing – and hopefully why we are doing it – at dinner tables and in pubs up and down the country.”

He added: “It has been polarising but it has created an emotional space for these ideas and that provides us with an opportunity for some real change.”

In a statement released by XR on Thursday afternoon it said it was saddened at the way events had escalated. It added that the people who had taken the action – a grandfather, an ex-buddhist teacher, a vicar and a former GP – had not taken the action lightly.

It added: “In light of today’s events, Extinction Rebellion will be looking at ways to bring people together rather than create an unnecessary division.”

Ruth Jarman, 56, from Christian Climate Action, was one of those involved in the transport action joining the protest on the DLR line at Shadwell, although she was not arrested.

She said she was “deeply sorry” for the ordinary working people caught up in the action but said the inconvenience caused “paled into insignificance compared with the chaos of climate breakdown” unless immediate systemic action was taken.

“Our intention was to target the city – one of the economic powerhouses of the world – to cause economic disruption, because that is what those in power pay on to.

“We have spent a lot of time blocking roads and are not being heard. People are dying now because of the climate crisis and it threatens all we love.

“I am deeply sorry for disrupting the lives of ordinary people – it was not our intention – but we have to raise the alarm and are desperate and don’t know what else to do.”