Quaker XR arrestee speaks in the Guardian
Sarah Lasenby, from Huddersfield Meeting, has spoken to the media about her participation in XR protests
An eighty-one-year-old Friend from Huddersfield who was arrested in Extinction Rebellion’s (XR) ‘October Rebellion’ was quoted in an article in the Guardian newspaper. Sarah Lasenby who was arrested on Victoria Embankment on 7 October, said in the article: ‘The whole thing is so urgent that it is imperative the government should take serious actions and put pressure on other states and global powers to radically reduce the use of fossil fuels even if this means we need to reduce our comfort at home and so much flying.’
The retired social worker from Oxford was one of twenty-three people arrested that morning who were part of the newly formed XR Peace group. The protestors blockaded Victoria Embankment in London outside the UK Ministry of Defence complex amid calls for the UK to redirect resources from the military to address the climate crisis. Several Quakers were arrested during the week of action, out of over 1,300 XR arrestees.
Huddersfield Quakers expressed their ‘love and solidarity’ for Sarah Lasenby who was also featured in a BBC article.
Over 270 people were arrested that day during action which saw parts of London shut down, including Westminster Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. The action is part of a planned two-week shutdown of central London. Quakers held daily half-hour Meetings for Worship on Lambeth Bridge from 7 October to the end of the ‘Rebellion’.
