A heavily pregnant woman became the final person to be arrested from Extinction Rebellion’s protest at Oxford Circus yesterday.

Hanna, 41, was filmed being carried away by police from the blockade at the busy intersection.

Two officers hoisted her up and took her to a waiting police van as protesters cheered.

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Police officers remove Hanna, a seven-months pregnant climate change campaigner from Extinction Rebellion, who had locked herself to a fellow activist using an arm tube (Picture: Alamy)

‘This is our last chance and I’m doing this for my kids,’ Hanna, a marine scientist from Swansea, said before being arrested.


Oxford Circus reopened to traffic last night after being blocked by protesters for six days.

They had gathered around a pink boat, which was towed away on Friday evening.



Police said more than 830 people have been arrested since the start of the protests, and 42 charged.

#HumansOfXR -Hanna, 41, “I’m a marine scientist from Swansea. I’ve been working in various conservation movements all my life. I’ve campaigned, voted, petitioned, paid money to Greenpeace & others & nothing’s happening. This is our last chance & I’m doing this for my kids.” pic.twitter.com/QnTFkKzgxX — Extinction Rebellion 🐝⌛️🦋 (@ExtinctionR) April 20, 2019

Hundreds of officers from other forces have been drafted in to help quell the ongoing disruption.

Police have been trying to confine the protests to one site in London, at Marble Arch, but protesters have ignored the threat of arrest and continued to block roads across the capital.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said: ‘We have shown that we are strong, we are determined.

‘I have never – I’ve been a police officer for 36 years – I have never known an operation, a single operation, in which over 700 people have been arrested.

‘It shows we are determined and we will carry on.’

Hanna was carried to a police van (Picture: Alamy)

On Saturday night, candlelit vigils were held as campaigners sang.

The Commissioner said that custody suites in London were ‘certainly very busy’ but not yet full, amid reports from demonstrators that some people had been taken outside of the capital.

Ms Dick said she was ‘not embarrassed’ about the length of time it is taking officers to clear the streets, defending their ‘determination and the resilience and the courage that they are showing in the face of quite a lot of difficulty’.

She predicted that large numbers of people would be ‘furious’ if the demonstrations affect the London Marathon, which will take place next Sunday.

Protesters from the Extinction Rebellion campaign group blocking Oxford Circus yesterday (Picture: EPA)

Extinction Rebellion environmental activists try to stop police from removing their boat on April 19 (Picture: Getty)

The group has pledged to continue causing disruption until its demands are met.

It wants the Government to declare a climate emergency and take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.

Extinction Rebellion announced they are switching disruptive tactics for political negotiation as they enter a second week of campaigning to have the Government declare a climate emergency.

Farhana, the group’s political circle co-ordinator said: ‘Today marks a transition from week one, which focused on actions that were vision-holding but also caused mass “disruption” across many dimensions (economic, cultural, emotional, social).

‘Week two marks a new phase of rebellion focused on “negotiations” where the focus will shift to our actual political demands.’

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