Extinction Rebellion activists hold dinner party in SEA off Essex

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Extinction Rebellion activists today dressed up as banshees to protest the construction of a new tunnel that it believes is ‘racist, colonial and unjust’.

Eco-warriors rallied outside the TfL headquarters in Stratford, East London, in a show of anger at the forthcoming twin-bore road, which will pass under the Thames from Silvertown to Greenwich.

The environmentalist group says the project will cause pollution in Newham that will hit the BAME community the hardest.

The stunt comes amid a wave of demonstrations planned by the environmentalist group, including a march on Parliament tomorrow and a disruptive cycle ride through London. 

XR protesters also today staged a Titanic-themed dinner party in the sea to shine a light on global warming.

Climate activists wearing fine dining dress waded into the water off Chalkwell Beach, Southend-on-Sea, to quaff Champagne and sip tea around a semi-submerged table.

The stunt was designed to illustrate the ‘obliviousness’ of the ‘elite’ in the face of rising sea levels as the planet warms up.    

Senior XR sources were unaware of this morning’s Titanic protest when approached by MailOnline, suggesting it was organised independently of the group’s national leadership.

Campaigner Jonathan Fuller explained on Facebook that two local XR branches joined forces to pull off the eye-catching stunt.

He wrote: ‘Southend and Chelmsford XR came together today for the Southend Under Sea action. Chelmsford brought the band and we brought the elite, completely oblivious to the disaster all around them as their Titanic gradually sinks.’ 

Activists banged drums as several ‘diners’ in the sea, many of whom wore masks, pretended to enjoy a meal under a banner which read: ‘Stop global warming or we’re sunk’.

Other posters which were scattered on the beach blazoned warnings such as ‘we want to live’, ‘planet over profit’ and ‘act now’.

Ecological messages were also blared from East London today where eco-warriors dressed as banshees rallied against the building of the Silvertown Tunnel. 

XR’s Hackney Branch tweeted: ‘On the way to the TfL headquarters in Stratford to tell them exactly what we think of their toxic and racist tunnel! #NoToxicTunnel.’

The group said that building the underwater tunnel will cause traffic in some of the most ‘polluted and deprived areas’, and branded the project ‘racist, colonial and unjust’. 

A statement said: ‘Newham is home to 72 per cent BAME population and less than 50 per cent owns a car: building this road is a racist, colonial and unjust policy.

It added: ‘This outdated project has no place in a time of climate emergency and the dangers of traffic pollution in the air.’ 

Outside Transport for London’s headquarters, campaigners laid 26 pairs of shoes, ‘one for each person who dies prematurely every day from air pollution in London.’ 

Banshees also paraded through Woolwich, a few miles away, where they lay sprawled on the ground to demonstrate against the Silvertown Tunnel.

TfL maintains the new road will reduce congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel and shore up the ‘reliability and resilience of the wider road network’. 

Today’s protests continued a string of XR rallies across the UK, which will be ratcheted up tomorrow with a march on Parliament.

At 11.30am, crowds of activists will descend on Westminster for a demonstration and series of rabble-rousing speeches.

The activity will continue all week and target landmarks including Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and the Bank of England.

At 3pm on Thursday, protesters will attempt to wreak havoc on the capital’s roads with an event called Ride For Our Lives, which encourages people to ‘join the rebel riders for a disruptive cycle around London’.