Forum Topic

XR Idiots Force Ambulance Into Detour

XR disrupters blocking Lambeth Bridge forced a blue-light ambulance into a U-turn yesterday.  This ambulance could have been transporting a patient with a critical condition and the extra moments this manoeuvre took could have cost them their life.  I thought these attention seeking idiots vowed that emergency service vehicles would not be detrimentally affected by their inane antics?  It's time for the police to get tough on these anarchists and stop pussyfooting around them. Those who glue their hands to buildings should just be left there, the prats will move when they need the loo or get hungry.  Boris should invest in another water cannon and legislate for it to be used when necessary.

Sue Hammond ● 1327d19 Comments

Hey Barbara, totally agree with all your points. Different opinions are what makes things interestedI think it should be noted however, how quickly and loudly Sue and the other Barbara make assumptions and shout down different opinions - but then never answer or disappear when challengedI am still waiting for my answer from the other day - why was it ok for them to shout down XR protesters in London the other day where there were still loads of open roads around them, but they would not shout down the illegal / anti immigrant protest in Dover where they blocked the ONLY road in and out of the port?TBH ambulances are having a nightmare driving around London full stop, you only have to see the average mph of a car in London these days to grasp how bad this itBefore i get shouted down, yes i drive, i also walk and cycle, and yes i do fly sometimes. But even so i do admit that this issue has to be acknowledged by everyoneThank you :)

Emma Blackwell ● 1320d

Thank you Barbara SH, you put that better than I could.

Barbara Stevens ● 1320d

Brenna.  firstly XR is not necessarily a peaceful activist movement.  The sentiments and ideals are but not always the fact of the action.  Secondly, I doubt if Sue for one moment considers it's her business what other people truly believe. She is not out to reform people or change them to her point of view.  But like many on this forum, including myself, she detests lawless people who'know they are right' and the rest of us are idiots.  Why should these people stop others going to work? Why should they cost the Met thousands of pounds which could be better spent elsewhere?I myself try not to get upset.  I've learnt over many years it's quite difficult trying to beat the system easily or quickly.  I do get very upset over local issues though, whereby sometimes I can have an input, such as the closure of the RSPCA.  Not that that was successful but we tried, peacefully and within the law  What were we supposed to do?  Let all animals loose on the streets and create mayhem?  Some people don't like animals.  Some people don't like XR. FACT

Barbara Shillabeer ● 1320d

Forgive me Sue, but the vitriol you keep posting about XR doesn't seem to be very well or deeply thought out. What is it you're so ruffled about? I might ask Barbara Stevens and a few others the same question. Are you aware that we're in a climate and ecological emergency (FACT)? And if you are, might that not be a good place to focus your rage, rather than petty details about a peaceful activist movement? Aside from the fact that it was a police road closure and not XR protestors that made the ambulance turn around, have you stopped for a moment to think about what XR protestors are actually protesting about, and how these issues link directly back to the perceived injustices you're railing about (in this instance, ambulances not being able to get where they need to go in the most timely fashion possible?).Among other things, XR is fighting for a reduction in vehicular traffic and therefore a reduction in congestion on the roads and in the air pollution that this causes. Unfortunately, a King's College study shows that road congestion in London means that ambulance speeds rarely exceed 14 mph*, which is very problematic.  How many people die on a daily basis waiting for ambulances that can't reach them in time due to heavy traffic on the roads? Now that would be an interesting data set to explore (and maybe to get angry about!), rather than going off the rails about one ambulance that needed to take a detour because of a police road block.Also, how many people who need ambulances in the first place need them because of conditions directly linked to air pollution? Stats show that nearly 9 500 people a year die prematurely in London because of air pollution. If we cleaned up the air, fewer ambulances would even be needed on the roads - wouldn't that be nice? All I'm saying is that there are plenty of things in the world to be angry about right now, and XR -  an intelligent and diverse movement of people fighting for the future of your children/grandchildren - certainly isn't one of them. *https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/london-ambulances-need-new-live-data-systems-to-beat-traffic-jams-in-emergencies-report-claims-a3875251.html**https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/15/nearly-9500-people-die-each-year-in-london-because-of-air-pollution-study

Brenna L ● 1320d

Doubt they'd use teargas anywhere they want others to continue business as usual. As soon as there's tear gas around you've created a no-go area for the general public. So completely counter productive, it would just escalate the situation - and let's face it,they're not going to use it near Parliament in case any MPs get a wiff of it ...

Michael Ixer ● 1327d

The water cannon Boris bought from Germany didn't work properly. Tear gas  didn't stop the Gilets Jaunes protests.

Lucille Grant ● 1327d

I saw the video of someone being on the ladder thing when it was fully extended, looked terrifying but apparently they have an even longer one on order!

Matt Palmer ● 1327d

It says something about a capital city that has water cannon but not a fire engine with a decent length ladder!Apparently they have only recently took delivery of a long reach fire engine. I wonder how many!

Ed Robinson ● 1327d

It was Theresa May that stopped Boris using them!Anyway I suggest Tear Gas Is as effective 👍

Vic Condon ● 1327d

'Boris should invest in another water cannon and legislate for it to be used when necessary.'The water cannon that never  worked? Great investment that was!

Lucille Grant ● 1327d

In most cases I think the arrests are perfectly justified. Its normally a section 14 (you've been told to move and you didnt) order, when a rebel refuses to move they are arrested. It's part of the tactic and (generally) the police give you time to decide what you are going to do.In the case of last night they havent been charged with anything just released pending further enquiries. As they weren't doing anything wrong the police can now face wrongful arrest costs, same as they did in 2012.

Matt Palmer ● 1327d

Matt, what grounds are the police using for arrests? It looks like there's political pressure being applied here and, whatever one's views on the XR action, that's unacceptable - our government criticises Putin for that so it looks rather hypocritical. Essentially the police are just throwing away taxpayers' money taking such action if they know from previous experience they'll have to pay compensation.

Michael Ixer ● 1327d

No no, you're mixing up two different protests, my fault because of my original response!AR had nothing to do with last nights arrests on Lambeth bridge. They ran an action first thing in the morning that cause the police to partially close Victoria street.The arrests on Lambeth bridge took place when the police kettled an XR bike ride around London on the bridge. They closed both ends of the bridge and over the course of several hours arrested over 200 people. Ultimately the police will end up paying compensation.That's why the bridge was closed and thats why the ambulance couldnt get through. You can see a tweet at the link below from 'netpol' a police monitoring bunch of lawyers - nothing to do with XR so not biased, please watch it (its only 1 minute) https://twitter.com/netpol/status/1301566699406323717?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Matt Palmer ● 1327d

If AR hadn't been demonstrating and disrupting on the bridge in the first place the police wouldn't have needed to get involved. Stop making excuses Matt.

Sue Hammond ● 1327d

People often get AR and XR confused, not without reason to be fair as there's a lot of crossover. AR are hard core vegan/animal rights activists, they certainly share the same tactics.As I said though, the police chose to kettle the riders last night and thats what forced the closure of the bridge. Incidentally the police used exactly the same tactic on a mass bike ride during the olympics in 2012 and ended up having to apologise and release all without charge as you can't just bang up people for riding a bike!

Matt Palmer ● 1327d

I didn't miss the thread Matt, I chose not to read it because it was too long  and arduous to read on my phone's screen.  I heard about it in the radio this morning and animal rebellion wasn't mentioned. Isn't that particular bunch of idiots connected to XR, or did they just learn tactics from your lot?

Sue Hammond ● 1327d

Actually i'll take that back! i thought you were talking about Victoria street.If it was Lambeth bridge then you're correct and it was XR, again it was a choice by the police. They kettled 200 riders on the bridge and then arrested them all, that process kept the bridge closed for hours.

Matt Palmer ● 1327d

Clearly you missed the thread last night both.It was animal rebellion, not extinction rebellion :) Also the police closed the road so their choice :)

Matt Palmer ● 1327d

Sue , your so right their bloody idiots. They need to be moved.

Barbara Stevens ● 1327d