Members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) staged a protest demanding a citizens' assembly to help with a Covid-19 recovery plan.

Demonstrators stood outside the council offices in Sevenoaks, as they want a representative group of citizens to be selected at random from the population to learn about, deliberate upon, and make recommendations in relation to the coronavirus pandemic.

One such assembly was established in Ireland in 2016 to discuss several topics such as abortion, referendums and climate change.

The Sevenoaks branch of the environmental group wants "people and planet to be considered over profit" as the nation slowly emerges from the Covid-19 crisis.

Spokesman, Laura Clout, said: "Challenging as these times are, we must not waste this massive opportunity for change.

“It’s becoming more and more evident each day that the government isn’t capable of getting us out of the coronavirus mess, or preparing us for future crises.

"They are more concerned with getting us back to “normal” as rapidly as possible. And the coronavirus has shown us what’s possible when the political will is there. Everything can change. Although there might not be a clear way out of either of these two huge disasters, we know one thing for sure: there can be no going back to the way things were.

“We need to remind local governments that whatever the current threat from Covid-19 is, a much bigger one lurks from the climate crisis.

“We ask them to trust the people to make the changes we need to survive this, and set up a citizens’ assembly on how to rebuild our economy, democracy and our future.”

About 20 people attended the protest, carrying signs painted with slogans such as "people and planet or profit and pollution"

The socially-distanced, silent demonstration lasted for around one hour on Saturday, May 30. There was a small police presence.

Everyone was asked to arrive and leave separately, wear face masks and gloves and stay at least three metres apart at all times.

The protest also reportedly took place in other parts of the country at the same time. It was the first major action involving physical protest by the group since lockdown began.

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