Dr. Larch Maxey and two other Extinction Rebellion protesters, Ellie and Athena, have set up a protest camp high above Parliament Square in the trees behind the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, which are both currently wrapped in police ‘Do Not Cross’ tape.

We caught up with Dr. Maxey after two fraught days without food. After three days of occupation, police prevented supporters from passing provisions up to the three activists, and made four arrests when some water bottles were thrown to the tree campers at the end of their second day without sustenance.

Finally police relented under pressure, and as we interviewed Dr Maxey the first bag of food arrived. He is still denied a phone charger that would enable him to ring his solicitor.

The protesters are demanding that the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, which was tabled on the 2nd September by Green MP Caroline Lucas, should be fast-tracked. Currently, after receiving the support of just 20 MPs, it is not set to receive a second reading until next March. Dr. Maxey points out that the United Nations have issued warnings for two years running, that emissions need to start reducing by the end of 2020, but they are still rising with no clear plan to stop them.

Dr. Maxey vowed to stay in the tree until the Bill is fast-tracked.

This is not the first time Larch has been found up a tree. He has occupied several, up and down the route of the ridiculous HS2 project and continues to call for the £100 billion to be spent on the NHS and on helping the poorest in society who have lost jobs and homes due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Up to the minute news at HS2Rebellion