Police in London have made 135 arrests in relation to the latest wave of protests by environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion.

The group describes itself as an international movement that uses non-violent, civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse.

Climate crisis protests by the Group have been kicking off in cities around the world including in London, Sydney, Amsterdam and Berlin.

Similar protests in April resulted in over 1,000 arrests in London.

A number of protesters went before the courts in the weeks following the protests, charged with public order offences.

According to The Metropolitian Police, 21 people had been arrested up to 8 am on Monday morning.

This figure was updated to 135 shortly after mid-day.

According to reports from the BBC, activists were seen barricading themselves into vehicles close to the British Parliament at Westminster.

Hundreds of campaigners are reported to have filled Trafalgar Square and blocked Lambeth and Westminster bridges.

The first arrests were made over the weekend, as crowds began to descend on the British capital ahead of the official start of the protest at 5 pm on Sunday evening.

Of three people arrested on Sunday, one female and two males were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. The female has been released under investigation while the males remain in custody.

On Saturday, eight arrests were made. Seven arrests were on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance, while the eighth was made on suspicion of obstructing police. All those arrested on Saturday have been released under investigation.

Extinction Rebellion has said it plans for this wave of protests, which it is calling International Rebellion, to far outweigh the earlier protests this year.

In a statement from the Group,  it describes the protests as:  set to be at least five times larger than what was seen in April – is our moment to rebel, above all, in the name of repairing the wounded organism that is our planet, our communities, and ourselves. During this rebellion we will try to demonstrate the change we want to see in society – to show how we can nurture a new culture that is resilient and robust.

It says activists are due to take to the streets in over 60 countries.

Large numbers of protesters have already taken to the streets in cities across the globe.

30 people are reported to have been arrested in Sydney, 50 people have been arrested in Amsterdam where they set up tents outside the national museum, activists have blocked traffic in Berlin and a shopping centre has reportedly been taken over in Paris by 1,000 activists supported by the yellow-vest, anti-Government movement.

Photo by Alexander Savin/CreativeCommons.org  CC BY 2.0