THE MET has promised to arrest anyone involved in the Extinction Rebellion demonstrators.

But Bill Janson, a Swindon XR protestor who has been taking part in the London demos, said the announcement had hardened people’s resolve.

And the former Gorse Hill GP suggested demonstrators were being arrested at random, with two teens wearing XR t-shirts arrested next to him while banner-carrying Bill was not carted off to custody.

Asked why he was taking part in the protests, Dr Janson, 64, said: “I’m an ex-GP. I spent my life looking after my patients in Gorse Hill.

“Reading the science I can see that the earth itself is a sick place at the moment.

“We are heading towards a very dark place.”

On Monday, Railway Village man Tristan Strange was among those arrested in the City of London after a police inspector remonstrated with him for writing on a pavement with chalk and stencil.

This morning, Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said the protest ban was brought in after "continued breaches" of the condition limiting protests to Trafalgar Square. He said: "This was an operational policing decision to help us get London moving again."