Greta Thunberg arrested at protest as activists blockage oil summit at luxury London hotel

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was detained by police in London after she addressed protesters at a demonstration against oil and gas companies in the centre of the city.

Video footage showed Thunberg, wearing a badge with the slogan ‘Oily Money Out’ standing calmly as two police officers spoke to her, with one was seen holding her arm.

She was photographed being led towards a police van by the two officers.

Environmental group Greenpeace said two of its activists scaled the Intercontinental Hotel in Mayfair and unfurled a giant banner over its entrance reading ‘Make Big Oil Pay’ in protest at a gathering of oil and gas leaders taking place inside the building, including Shell CEO Wael Sawan.

Addressing journalists outside the hotel, Miss Thunberg said: “The world is drowning in fossil fuels. Our hopes and dreams and lives are being washed away by a flood of greenwashing and lies.

“It has been clear for decades that the fossil fuel industries were well aware of the consequences of their business models, and yet, they have done nothing.

“The opposite – they have actively delayed, distracted and denied the causes of the climate crisis and spread doubts about their own engagement in it.”

Dozens of protesters blocked Hamilton Place at both ends with banners and pink umbrellas with eyes painted on, shouting “oily money out” and “cancel the conference”, while others lit yellow and pink smoke flares.

Miss Thunberg said: “We cannot let this continue. The elite of the oil and money conference, they have no intention of transition.

“Their plan is to continue this destructive search of profits. That is why we have to take direct action to stop this and to kick oil money out of politics.

“We have no other option but to put our bodies outside this conference and to physically disrupt. And we have to do that every time, we have to continue showing them that they are not going to get away with this.”

Thunberg, who became the face of young climate activists worldwide after staging weekly protests in front of the Swedish parliament in 2018, has this year been detained by police or removed from protests in Sweden, Norway and Germany.

In September, she was charged with charged with disobeying a police order to leave a protest at a busy port in Sweden, just two months after being fined in July for refusing to leave a protest on a road for oil transport from Malmo harbour.

Organised by the group Fossil Free London, today’s protests saw activists attempting to block access to the hotel by sitting and standing on the pavement by the entrance.

Five people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing a highway and taken into custody, the Metropolitan Police said.

The activists said they will continue their actions throughout the planned Energy Intelligence Forum, which is due to last over the following three days.

Maja Darlington, a campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “Oil bosses are toasting each other in a luxury hotel and plotting how to make even larger profits, while millions struggle to rebuild after a summer of extreme weather.

“Big oil is profiting from humanity’s loss and those who have done the least to cause climate change are being forced to pay the price.”

Speakers at the conference include the chief executives of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and Norway’s Equinor, the German ambassador to the UK and Graham Stuart, UK energy security and net zero minister.

Mr Stuart has previously said that allowing oil and gas companies to continue drilling the North Sea for resources is necessary for energy security.

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