Three Extinction Rebellion environmental activists accused of glueing themselves to a DLR train as part of climate change protests in London have been denied bail by a judge.
Cathy Eastburn, 51, Mark Ovland, 35, and Luke Watson, 29, appeared in court on Thursday over their alleged involvement in obstructing trains at Canary Wharf station on Wednesday morning.
All three indicated a not guilty plea to obstructing trains or carriages on the railway by an unlawful act contrary to Section 36 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861.
Eastburn, of Gerards Close in Lambeth, south London, Ovland, of Keinton Mandeville, Somerton, Somerset, and Watson, from Manuden in Essex, appeared before District judge Julia Newton at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court.
She remanded them in custody. They will next appear at Blackfriars Crown Court on May 16.
Scotland Yard said that as of 9.30am on Thursday 428 arrests had been made.
Organisers behind the climate change protest say they are prepared to escalate the group’s tactics if their demands are “not met”, warning that “thousands more rebels” are expected to join in the coming days.
Dr Gail Bradbrook, a co-founder of the Extinction Rebellion group said demonstrators would continue to act despite the first people being charged over the disruption.
Speaking from Waterloo Bridge, she said: “It (the charges) might put some people off and we escalated our strategy by focusing on the rail infrastructure.”
Asked about whether key sites like Waterloo Bridge will remain held for two weeks as planned, she said: “It’s in the hands of the gods really isn’t it? It’s up to whether people respond to the call to come onto the streets.
“More people are joining us all the time. We’re having a fantastic time here. It’s how life is meant to be lived with people coming together and actually exerting their political power.”
In Oxford Circus around half a dozen arrests were carried out on Thursday afternoon.