Just a quarter of Animal Rebellion’s milk-pouring protesters have been arrested over calls for a tougher crackdown
Released: 6:25 PM EDT, Oct. 22, 2022 | Updated: 6:29 PM EDT, Oct. 22, 2022
Police chiefs faced calls last night to crack down on eco-zealots after it was revealed that just a quarter of Animal Rebellion’s milk-pouring protesters have been arrested.
The fanatics have wreaked havoc in department stores and supermarkets over the past few weeks, barging in and dumping milk, demanding the government work towards a “plant-based future”.
About 30 activists have targeted businesses across the country. There were protests at Harrods, Fortnum and Mason and Selfridges in London, a Waitrose store in Edinburgh and M&S branches in Manchester and Norwich.
Buried: protesters in Fortnum and Mason in London earlier this month
Analysis by The Mail on Sunday identified 18 activists who took part in the protests in London.
But the Metropolitan Police have only arrested and charged three people.
Edinburgh police made no arrests despite footage of the Waitrose protest being viewed more than 14 million times on Twitter.
In contrast, Norfolk officers arrested all four protesters at an M&S store in Norwich last Saturday.
The activists, who are also said to have poured milk over store staff when they were challenged, have been released on bail until next month.
Critics have questioned why other forces have not cracked down with equal force.
Susan Hall, chair of the Greater London Authority’s Police and Crime Committee, said she would seek a reply from Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.
“It’s amazing what these people get away with and I wish they were treated a lot more robustly,” she said.
Meanwhile, activists from Just Stop Oil wreaked havoc on the doorstep of former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn yesterday.
Around 20 protesters staged a sit-in on Upper Street in Islington, north London. Police arrested 17 protesters for intentionally obstructing the highway.
Last week Secretary of State James Cleverly called Animal Rebellion fanatics “attention-seeking adult toddlers.”
About 20 protesters staged a sit-in on Upper Street in Islington, north London on Friday. Police arrested 17 protesters for intentionally obstructing the highway.
“I wonder what the reaction would be if some black boys from Lewisham threw soup on a Van Gogh or poured milk all over the floor in Harrods,” he tweeted.
Last night, a Met Police spokesman said: “In the run-up to the protest activities, we have made plans in relation to the locations that we believe are most likely to be attacked, but it is not possible to predict where each incident will occur.
“If we’re notified of incidents as they happen, we respond immediately.”
