A man has been arrested after climate protesters climbed on top of a train in Canary Wharf and threatened to glue themselves to the roof.
Two Extinction Rebellion demonstrators clambered aboard the carriage of a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) at the station at around 11am.
British Transport Police tweeted that one man has been arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway.
The pair on top of the DLR train, a smartly dressed man and woman, had unfurled a banner saying “climate emergency”, while below them another demonstrator wearing a hi-vis vest appeared to glue his hand to the train window.
The demo comes as authorities disabled Wi-Fi at tube stations in a bid to stop campaigners intent on disrupting Underground services from co-ordinating their efforts.
An Extinction Rebellion (XR) statement said of the DLR stunt: “Our aim is to create moments in time when humanity stops and fully considers the extent of the harm we have done and are doing to life on earth.
“It is vitally important at this time. It is a matter of life and death - whether you live in Tower Hamlets or Taipei, Melbourne or Mumbai.”
It comes on the third day of a series of climate change protests which have led to nearly 300 people being arrested in the capital.
A British Transport Police (BTP) spokeswoman said: “In the interests of safety and to prevent and deter serious disruption to the London Underground network, BTP has taken the decision to restrict passenger Wi-Fi connectivity at Tube stations.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and we would like to assure passengers that this decision is not taken lightly and will be reviewed throughout the day.”
Transport for London (TfL) said: “We will restore access as soon as we are able to do so.”
XR demonstrations have been taking place at Parliament Square, Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and Marble Arch this week.
The protests have led to road closures, traffic gridlock and serious disruption to public transport and local businesses, with 55 bus routes closed and 500,000 people affected.
The campaign group outlined plans to “non-violently disrupt Tube services to highlight the emergency of ecological collapse” on Wednesday if the Government does not meet its members.
It added: “Participants will peacefully break the law in order to stop the Tube and then will wait to be arrested.
“We sincerely apologise to all those who may suffer as a consequence of this disruption. In any other circumstances we would never dream of disrupting the Tube, but this is an emergency.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that while he shared the passion of the protesters about the urgent need to tackle climate change he was “extremely concerned” about plans to disrupt the London Underground.
In a statement posted on Twitter he said: “It is absolutely crucial to get more people using public transport, as well as walking and cycling, if we are to tackle this climate emergency - and millions of Londoners depend on the Underground network to get about their daily lives in our city.
“Targeting public transport in this way would only damage the cause of all of us who want to tackle climate change, as well as risking Londoners’ safety and I’d implore anyone considering doing so to think again.”
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