London, April 22: London Olympic Gold medallist Etienne Stott was one of the many Extinction Rebellion activists arrested in London protesting against climate change at the Waterloo Bridge here on Sunday evening. Stott, the London 2012 canoe slalom champion, was one of the 963 people arrested by the Met Police over the climate change protests till now, reports mirror.co.uk.

The 39-year-old was carried from the bridge by four officers at around 8.30 p.m. local time as he shouted of the "ecological crisis". The Nottingham branch of XR confirmed his arrest on Twitter at around 10:50 p.m. and said they were awaiting the Olympian's release. Stott had retired from the sport in 2016 and since then he has been active on social media on the issue of climate change. Climate Change Protesters Strip Naked in UK Parliament to Draw Attention on 'Ecological Crisis', Arrested As Pictures Go Viral.

Last week, the Olympian had tweeted about the David Attenborough programme on climate change, saying people 'must act now'. "This could be one of the most important TV programmes in the entire history of mankind," he had said on Twitter.

Etienne Stott's Tweet

Over the past week, protesters have stopped traffic in Oxford Circus, Marble Arch, Parliament Square and Waterloo Bridge and have proposed to "pause" their actions if politicians agree to negotiate. The protesters have been campaigning for the past two weeks to have the government declare a climate emergency.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2019 12:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).