“From Friday 30 August – Monday 2 September the Extinction Rebellion Protest took place in Manchester city centre.
GMP, with the support of its agency partners, facilitated the space they occupied over the four day period to ensure the safety of both the Extinction Rebellion Protesters, but also that of people living, working and visiting the city.
The protesters have now left the Deansgate area, and there is no protest activity taking place in the city centre.
Whilst GMP is extremely experienced in dealing with large-scale events and protests, this has presented some unique challenges.
We rigorously planned and prepared for this protest in conjunction with all relevant partners, including Manchester City Council, the local authorities of Greater Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester, British Transport Police, communities, and businesses via CityCo and Manchester BID.
We engaged with the protest group in advance so that we could best understand their intentions. This enabled us to plan and prepare our response and facilitate a safe protest, resulting in no arrests.
Whilst we respect everyone’s right to peaceful protest, we ask that any protestors in Manchester also respect the right of others to go about their daily business with minimal disruption and to liaise with the local authorities in advance.”
