Politics student, 31, danced topless at XR protest
Topless Extinction Rebellion protester is a politics student, 31, from Brighton who says she brings a ‘nice energy’ to demonstration shutting down Oxford Circus
- Laura Amherst drew startled looks wearing just two XR stickers on her nipples
- Ms Amherst is study politics at university and says she is bringing attention to XR
- She said that her dancing topless ‘brought a nice energy to the protest’
A politics student who danced topless at an Extinction Rebellion protest wearing just knickers and nipples covers has declared she did it to ‘draw attention to the climate crisis’.
Laura Amherst, 31 drew startled looks and wild applause from passers-by and fellow protestors as she danced topless with just two Extinction Rebellion stickers covering her naked breasts in the centre of Oxford Circus on Wednesday.
Ms Amherst, who is studying politics at the Open University told MailOnline: ‘I did it to draw attention to the climate crisis facing the planet.
‘Dancing topless brought a nice energy to the protest and was also a very body positive thing to do. A lot of people congratulated me for doing this, especially women. I’m not getting paid for this or doing it to draw attention to myself but just to save the planet.’
Ms Amherst, who lives in Brighton, revealed that she is a committed member of XR along with her boyfriend.
Laura Amherst, 31 drew startled looks and wild applause from passers-by and fellow protestors as she danced topless with just two Extinction Rebellion stickers covering her naked breasts in the centre of Oxford Circus on Wednesday
Ms Amherst, who is studying politics at the Open University told MailOnline: ‘I did it to draw attention to the climate crisis facing the planet
She added: ‘Dancing topless brought a nice energy to the protest and was also a very body positive thing to do’
Ms Amherst wore just two Extinction Rebellion stickers over her nipples during the protests today
She posed for pictures during the protest in a bid to ‘draw attention to the climate crisis’
Ms Amherst wrote ‘Act now’ on her buttocks at the protest on Oxford Street in central London today
Extinction Rebellion protesters return to London on day three of their two-week demonstration
Police form a ring around a pink structure the demonstrators erected on Wednesday afternoon in Oxford Circus, central London
The bright pink construction had a protester on top of it as police officers from the Met formed a ring around it this afternoon
Around 500 Extinction Rebellion activists blockaded Oxford Circus on Wednesday, one of several protests that are scheduled to take place for the next two weeks.
Ms Amherst added: ‘My boyfriend has been very supportive about my decision to go topless as has my father. But it’s got nothing to do with them because this is my body and I’m my own woman.
‘They both know how passionate I am about saving the planet. I wasn’t nervous about it at all and I felt that it made a lot of people happy.’
She continued: ‘If me taking my clothes off can help save the planet then why not. I made the decision on Monday at the start of the protest campaign. It was my own choice, it had nothing to do with anybody else.’
She revealed that she is a vegan, who drives a hybrid car and lives in a home with her boyfriend that has renewable energy.
She added: ‘We are doing all that we can to save the planet. Taking my clothes off gets people talking and also brought a smile to their faces.’
Metropolitan Police officers fail to stop the demonstrators from erecting the structure in the middle of the highway, forcing traffic to divert
Officers were pictured standing around in a circle around the structure – not intervening – as the protest clogged up Oxford Circus
Police simply looked on with their arms folded or stood around chatting showing little enthusiasm for breaking up the protest
Police officers carry a climate activist who tries to make it difficult for them by letting her body go limp as they finally start to clear the crowd in Oxford Circus
Eco-warriors from Extinction Rebellion have descended on central London for a third day of disruption over climate change
The protesters rammed the streets in Piccadilly Circus – blocking commuters from getting by – and blurted out rehearsed speeches through a microphone
One heavily tattooed man wore a tea towel over his mouth with the word ‘babes’ printed on it and the scrawled message: ‘Protect indigenous peoples’
Some played dead in the road while others dressed up as trees and pretended they could not breathe during the bizarre stunt (pictured)
Ms Amherst said that she planned to go topless for the remainder of XR’s two-week protest campaign in London.
She revealed that on Wednesday, she had been dancing for around six hours and that she was determined to remain topless whatever the weather.
Ms Amherst added: ‘I started on Monday, so this is the third day of me going topless. Regardless of if it’s sunny, cold or wet I will continue taking my top off. I have had a very positive reaction from both men and women.
‘Only one man was negative, but he was a bit of weirdo who was trying to get my number. Apart from that, I’ve not had any problems.’
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