Extinction Rebellion activists dressed as ‘dirty scrubbers’ in a demonstration outside a bank.

Protestors led chants and handed out leaflets outside Barclays Bank on Ilford High Road, claiming that Barclays finances “climate-wrecking fossil fuels” by bankrolling oil companies.

Activists hoped to encourage members of the public to switch to banks they believe have a better track record on environmental issues.

Ilford Recorder:

Vanya Marks, 45, a spokesperson for the group, said: “During the heatwave this summer, a wildfire started in the fields behind my house.

“I am terrified that the climate crisis is here now.

“Barclays must listen to the science and stop funding fossil fuel extraction for profit.”

The group cited a recent report that described Barclays as the “worst banker of fossil fuels” in Europe.

One of the protestors, Kathy Taylor, 66, from Wanstead, said – “I’m driven to protest because all reports say that the safe target of 1.5 degrees of heating is incompatible with new oil and gas.

Ilford Recorder:

“We should be expanding our investment in solar and wind energy and insulating homes, not pouring more money into fossil fuel infrastructure.”

The local protest was part of wider action, which is expected to last all week, staged by Extinction Rebellion activists outside 110 Barclays branches across the UK.

Elsewhere, activists in Glasgow smashed the windows of the Barclays at Clyde Place Quay, and the bank’s branch in Chancery Lane, London was smeared with black paint.

Ilford Recorder:

The protests come as delegations from countries across the globe are gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the United Nations’ annual climate conference (COP27).

Last week, Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, warned that “we are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator”.

A spokesperson for Barclays said – “We are determined to play our part in addressing the urgent and complex challenge of climate change.

“In March 2020 we were one of the first banks to set an ambition to become net zero by 2050… and we committed to align all of our financing activities with the goals and timelines of the Paris Agreement.”