Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists targeted several premises in Cambridge on Thursday of this week (30/04).

The action is part of XR’s ‘No Going Back’ national campaign which calls for the Government to refuse financial bailouts to polluting industries that request support as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Schlumberger, on the University of Cambridge’s West Site, was one of the primary targets. The main gates of the oilfield service provider were locked by activists and pasted over with a sign that read ‘closed for good’. 

Several car dealerships and the Marshall Group, an aerospace defence company which owns Cambridge Airport, were also targeted in XR’s latest action. 

A press release from XR Youth Cambridge quoted one activist as stating that "as well as being involved in arms, which has a huge carbon footprint and of course many direct casualties, Marshall are also one of the biggest polluters in Cambridge through their airport traffic”.

The Marshall Group, which has worked on defence projects with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and the British Armed Forces, generated £2.5 Billion in revenue in 2019. The company recently announced that it is one of several companies seeking to develop ventilators for Covid-19 patients. 

XR Cambridge have said that they will continue the ‘No Going Back’ campaign because “Cambridge has a high concentration of businesses that are harmful to people and the climate, perhaps because of the strong ties between the University of Cambridge and the fossil fuel industry”.

The action follows a statement made by UN Secretary-General António Gutteres, that taxpayer’s money should not be used to rescue outdated carbon-intensive industries. Gutteres offered his view that“where taxpayers' money is used to rescue businesses, it must be creating green jobs and sustainable growth”.

Cambridge has experienced heightened XR activity in recent months, including spray painting of the BP Institute and the digging up of Trinity College’s front lawn. 

XR's press release described coronavirus and the climate crisis as intimately linked. A spokesperson is quoted as stating that it “has become clear now that biodiversity breakdown and the exploitation of animals have made viral pandemics, such as COVID-19 much more likely”. 

The group has claimed that the action was part of their daily exercise and therefore permissible under current lockdown rules.

Cambridge Labour MP Daniel Zeichner said that “this is not the time to be daubing graffiti on the walls of businesses. People should follow the guidance, stay at home and not misuse their daily exercise.”

XR have claimed that all demonstrators who took part wore masks and adhered to social distancing regulations during the action. 

“Activism is something that is very hard to do purely from home, so we believe our protests must continue, albeit in a more socially distant form, with more safety measures”, the press release furthered.