Extinction Rebellion are damaging their own cause

A handout picture released by Extinction Rebellion on September 5, 2020, shows Extinction Rebellion activists blocking the entrance to the News Corporation newpaper printers at Broxbourne, north of London on September 4, 2020, "to expose the failure of these corporations to accurately report on the climate and ecological emergency". Climate change protesters in Britain blockaded two newspaper printing sites early Saturday, disrupting the distribution of titles including The Times, the Daily Telegraph and The Sun. Credit: TOM OLDHAM/Extinction Rebellion/AFP via Getty Images.

I have never felt too strongly about the climate change and environmental activist group, Extinction Rebellion.

When they first established themselves as a force for change in the United Kingdom in May 2018, with about 100 academics signing a call to action in support, I was a fan.

They were taking control of the situation while our ever-changing government and prime ministers failed to make serious decisions.

The truth is simple: climate change affects everyone.

By pulling stunts and protests which made headline news and front pages of national newspapers, Extinction Rebellion were successful in their aim – they got people talking.

However like every campaign and movement, they have their flaws.

When Extinction Rebellion sprayed the treasury in 1,800 litres of fake blood in October 2019 because they supposedly ‘funded’ climate change, many people were horrified. I wasn’t horrified, more shocked, if anything.

But when I learnt Extinction Rebellion had blocked the northern distribution of The Sun, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, and the London Evening Standard – among others – on Saturday, I was heartily disappointed.

Perhaps it’s because I am a journalist that I feel so let down by a movement I agreed with and their quest to ‘free the truth’.

What great use does it serve to silence the free press? The answer is nothing.

Yes, these papers are owned by multi-millionaires. But the hard-working journalists who write for such publications, day and night, do not deserve to have their work blocked. Especially when many of the newspapers above have run notable environmental campaigns, such as The Times’ Clean Air For All.

We have one of the most liberal and free presses in the world, which underpins our democracy. To attack it in such a way is one of the worst PR stunts a movement could pull.

Is censorship what Extinction Rebellion are after? Let’s not let history repeat itself…

Tony Abbott is the last person Britain needs now

Tony Abbott’s appointment to UK trade advisor is hard to comprehend given his past record of sexist and homophobic, as well as failure to recognise climate change exists.

But, clearly, it isn’t for Boris Johnson or one of his sheep, Matt Hancock.

When Kay Burley on Sky News asked Matt Hancock about the appointment, unsurprisingly the health secretary said he ‘did not believe’ such claims, despite them being proven and written down in black and white.

He then went on to say: ‘He is also an expert trade.’

Unbelievable. I forgot being experienced in one sector eradicates your track record of being a sexist bigot.

Complaints about Diversity highlights need for change

Britain’s Got Talent runners up, Diversity, have been the latest subject of Ofcom complaints because of their Black Lives Matter-inspired dance on the show at the weekend.

Ofcom reported there were almost 3,000 complaints about BGT, mostly regarding Diversity.

The dance, led by Ashley Banjo, referenced the murder of George Floyd. It was a powerful performance, one that should have got people thinking – not complaining. Later, Banjo tweeted about the complaints and said how it highlights ‘exactly what needs to change’.

To get that many complaints in 2020 is shocking. It only proves why the movement is so important.

Extinction Rebellion are damaging their own cause | Annie Lewis