Environmental protesters smashed the windows of a Glasgow bank to demand Barclays cut ties to fossil fuel companies.
Extinction Rebellion protesters wearing goggles and Kevlar gloves broke the glass of the bank’s Clyde Square Quay branch ahead of a demonstration outside the company’s branch late on Monday.
The windows of the multi-million pound Glasgow campus building were shattered and three protesters held signs declaring “this is an intervention” and calling on the company to “stop funding Rosebank” in images released by the campaign.
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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was urged to help stop the Rosebank oil and gas field about 100 miles off the coast of the Shetland Islands after a climate protester approached her. COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh last week.
Glasgow protesters say the field holds more than 500 million barrels of oil and claim that Barclays has given Norwegian state-owned Equinor $2.46 billion in support since 2015.
In a video released by the group, police liaison officers can be seen arriving at the bank with police cars and police cars carrying banners.
One Extinction Rebellion protester said they took action because “Barclays is finding out that our planet is being destroyed and they are funding the destruction of our children’s futures”.
“I can’t stand idly by and do nothing while Barclays is funding society’s collapse,” she said.
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Alex Cochrane of Extinction Rebellion Scotland said the bank was “Europe’s largest funder of fossil fuels”.
“Their greed is exploiting and creating a future of famine, displacement and global misery,” he said.
“We all know we need to get rid of fossil fuels. We all know the climate crisis is already hitting us, but Barclays still refuses to do the right thing for us. For the good of us all, they must stop using our money to finance fossils fuel.”
Action in Scotland’s largest city follows in the footsteps of the Feminist and Ploughshare movements, the group claims, “using non-violent direct action and property damage to prevent and draw attention to greater damage”.
Barclays and Police Scotland have been approached for comment.
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Dan Barker is a reporter for PA Scotland.
