TENS of thousands of people are expected to descend on Westminster this weekend to join Britain’s biggest ever protest against the combined climate emergency and political crisis.

The four-day action organised by Extinction Rebellion (XR), which will be joined by actors, authors, musicians, trade unionists and human rights activists, is demanding that the government takes immediate action to tackle the linked crises.

“People’s pickets” were formed outside 16 government buildings earlier today to kick off the campaign of protest, calling for urgent new policies to tackle the climate emergency affecting people and communities across the country.