
Share
18th April 2019
06:11pm BST

A protester at the Extinction Rebellion demonstration in Oxford Circus sounds a conch (Credit: Leon Neal)[/caption]
The Met police's commissioner, Cressida Dick, said any demonstrators should expect a "robust response."
She said: "The fact it's gone on for the number of days it has does mean it's increasing in intensity - of course the disruption that Londoners have faced has continued over those days.
"We have had information that the protesters intend to target Heathrow Airport. We want to make it very clear that we are aware of that - it's been made very obvious in social media."
"Protesters can expect a robust police response. We are determined to keep the airport operating."
https://twitter.com/MetPoliceEvents/status/1118918410459582464
[caption id="attachment_228387" align="alignnone" width="2048"]
Metropolitan Police officers arrest an Extinction Rebellion protester (Credit: Leon Neal)[/caption]
A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: "Throughout the course of today, Thursday, 18 April, we will have had more than 1,000 officers on the streets policing the demonstrations.
"This is putting a strain on the Met and we have now asked officers on the boroughs to work 12-hour shifts; we have cancelled rest days and our Violent Crime Task Force (VCTF) have had their leave cancelled.
"This allows us to free up significant numbers of officers whilst responding to local policing. We would also like to reassure people that we have ring-fenced the VCTF so we retain the capacity to deal with any unrelated violent incidents.
"However, the protesters need to understand that their demonstration is meaning officers are being diverted away from their core local duties that help keep London safe and that this will have implications in the weeks and months beyond this protest as officers take back leave and the cost of overtime."
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "I'm extremely concerned by reports that climate protesters are planning to disrupt Heathrow Airport tomorrow. This is extremely dangerous, illegal and is putting an unacceptable toll on our police force and our city.
Explore more on these topics: