Climate activists have attached themselves to a chain around the Speaker’s chair in the House of Commons chamber.
Extinction Rebellion said its supporters launched the protest at parliament in support of a “citizens’ assembly” to help act on the climate crisis.
The campaign group tweeted a photo showing three women standing hand in hand in front of the green leather chair the president sits on when parliament is in session. Two men stood on each side holding banners.
One said “Let the people decide” and the other said “Citizens’ Assembly now”.
The group wrote: “Supporters of the Extinction Rebellion have huddled around the Speaker’s chair inside the House of Commons.
“Right now, inside the parliament, a speech is being read that now demands a citizens’ assembly: ‘We are in crisis. We cannot afford to continue like this.”
“It is possible to act on climate and costs in a fair way and supporting everyone. But our political system is too outdated and outdated to see beyond the next election cycle and do what needs to be done. We need a new way of making decisions, where more voices are heard, not just those at the top. We need the true diversity of the country to be represented.
“We need a citizens’ assembly, now. Citizens’ assemblies allow ordinary people to make decisions that benefit everyone. Decisions that can get us out of this mess and make life better, safer and fairer for all of us.”
At the same time, two demonstrators – also with banners – closed by the neck on the railings outside the parliament. According to XR, another activist scaled the scaffolding surrounding Big Ben and held up a giant banner that read: “Let the people decide: now the citizens’ assemblies.”
A Commons spokesman said: “We are aware of an incident in the parliamentary estate and are currently dealing with the situation as a matter of urgency.”
The Metropolitan Police tweeted: “The Met is aware of a demonstration by a number of protesters at the Palace of Westminster. Met police and parliamentary staff are responding.”
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In a statement, XR described the actions as the “opening act” of further protests it has planned this month, including a three-day occupation of Hyde Park, “which will act as a launch event for a plan to five phases to bring 100,000 people to the streets in civil resistance next spring”.
A citizens’ assembly on solutions to the climate crisis has been one of XR’s key demands since it emerged as a major force in environmental activism in 2018.
“Independent citizens’ assemblies can show that those blocking progress in Westminster have no democratic mandate to continue destroying the environment and give power back to the people,” said Alanna Byrne, spokesperson for XR.
Oscar Berglund, a political scientist at the University of Bristol who studies protest movements, tweeted: “Nice to get in. But this is such a strange demand. The House of Commons literally gave you a citizens’ assembly three years ago years. What’s the goal here?”
The Commons and Lords are in recess until Monday.