Just Stop Oil blocks Pride in London parade
Just Stop Oil protesters halted the Pride in London parade (Just Stop Oil on Twitter)
Just Stop Oil has blocked the Pride in London parade by lying down in front of the floats and spraying black paint on the road.
The Metropolitan Police arrested seven people in relation to the incident before the parade was able to carry on its route through the capital.
The environmental campaign group threatened to take action against the organisers of the annual Pride event if they did not meet their demands, including providing details of their sponsorship details and making a statement urging an end to new gas and oil contracts.
The action follows several other high-profile demonstrations by the environmental group, which have seen them disrupt the cricket test match at Lord’s, in London, and the snooker World Championships in Sheffield, as well as block key roads in and around London.
On Friday (30 June) the environmental campaign group announced it would be protesting in Parliament Square but on Saturday afternoon (1 July), the day of Pride in London, but footage shared by Just Stop Oil showed activists disrupting the parade.
Activists marched in front of the parade route at around 1.30pm and lay in the floor in front of the Coca Cola float, spraying the road with black paint and chanting “just stop oil”.
Police were forced to intervene to remove the protesters, arresting seven individuals before the parade could continue at around 1.47pm.
Sharing information about the demonstration on Twitter the group said “LGBTQ+ supporters of Just Stop Oil have taken action against Pride in London today, because the organisation is working with industries complicit in worsening the climate crisis”.
Prior to disrupting the event, one Just Stop Oil activist spoke with PinkNews about their protest and the reason for taking action against Pride.
Sean, a safety facilitator at Just Stop Oil, said companies are using the queer community to “greenwash” themselves and the “pink pound” to shield themselves from criticism against their environmental practices.
“[Pride in London] is not representing queer communities by taking sponsors from the likes of these companies. These companies, the rest of the year, are funding the Tory party and other conservative government’s around the world.
“Putting a Pride flag on once a year and saying you are allies is not true. If you are an ally, act like it.”
In response to the action the official Pride in London Twitter account issued a statement: “We are aware of a protest group that was disrupting the parade. @MetPoliceEvents has resolved this issue and we have continued the parade.
“#PrideinLondon is a place for equality and we make sure everyone feels safe and enjoys the day.”
Pride in London has been contacted for comment.
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