Protestors have targeted
Boris Johnson on his first day as prime minister.
Climate change activists tried to block Johnson on his journey to Buckingham Palace to meet the
Queen and officially become PM.
Meanwhile, at least a thousand protestors embarked on a central
London demo against his premiership.
Greenpeace claimed responsibility after activists formed a human chain across The Mall, forcing Johnson’s convoy to stop.
They had planned to hand him a letter asking him to recognise there is a climate emergency – and calling on him to take drastic measures to respond to it.BREAKING: we just tried to hand the incoming PM a crucial letter - it contains the answers to tackling the Climate Emergency. But will he *act*? #BorisJohnsonPM#ClimateEmergencySign the petition to demand #ClimateAction: https://t.co/krnIPqT0jqpic.twitter.com/XZMFjawPIz— Greenpeace
UK (@GreenpeaceUK) July 24, 2019Police quickly rushed to the scene to move on the protestors and Johnson’s car was eventually able to get through.
John Sauven, chief executive of Greenpeace UK, was part of the line of
protesters that interrupted Boris Johnson’s motorcade.
“The
police were very fast in reacting and we were expecting that,” Sauven said later.
“We weren’t trying to stop Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister, we were trying to get a message to Boris that he has to treat the climate emergency seriously.”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed no arrests had been made.
Later, an anti-Johnson rally in central London saw around 1,000 protestors gathered to denounce Britain’s new prime minister.
For Emma Alsina, 56, the reason for travelling from her home in Oxfordshire for the event was simple. “He’s a tosser,” she says of Johnson. “As a woman, I find it scary to see the erosion of our rights after seeing them increase over many years.”Two young politics students said they were at the so-called “Fck Boris” rally because a no-deal
Brexit, mooted as a possibility by Johnson, was “economic suicide”. They added that Johnson “made Londoners less safe” by “getting rid of
fire stations”.
And Lois Wardmarvin said she felt Johnson did not care about real people. “To be honest, I don’t think he cares for anyone but himself,” she said. “Also, none of us here had a say. He was voted for by old white straight men. I’m a 23-year-old lesbian. It’s not my demographic.”
Crowds descended on Whitehall and began chanting loudly at the end of Downing Street as Johnson’s new cabinet emerged from No10.
Among the big names appointed to key positions were Sajid Javid, who becomes chancellor, and the former international development secretary, Priti Patel, who becomes home secretary. Ex-Brexit chief Dominic Raab becomes foreign secretary, replacing Johnson’s leadership rival Jeremy Hunt.LATEST Sajid Javid, Priti Patel And Dominic Raab Get Top Jobs In Boris Johnson's Cabinet