A war of words has erupted after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab slammed Labour's Diane Abbott this morning for defending Extinction Rebellion activists who blockaded newspaper printing presses on Friday. Ms Abbott compared Extinction Rebellion to the Suffragettes and criticised the government's plans to reclassify the activists as an organised crime gang. Ms Abbott earlier defended the protest, saying direct action is a 'legal tactic' and adding that it would be 'ridiculous' for the Government to reclassify Extinction Rebellion. He said Extinction Rebellion protesters were 'shooting themselves in the foot' following their blockade of newspaper printing presses on Friday evening. Why Extinction Rebellion has blocked the printing presses Extinction Rebellion (XR) claimed last night that it was using the disruption to 'expose' newspapers 'failure to report on the climate and ecological emergency'.

Source: Daily Mail September 06, 2020 08:34 UTC