HUNDREDS of activists blocked London’s Oxford Circus today to demand an arms embargo on Israel and for the incoming government to halt all new oil and gas licences.

Youth Demand, a new group linked to Just Stop Oil, gathered at Victoria Embankment Gardens, where they held a people’s assembly, before marching through central London.

The group reported that 21 arrests were made after they blocked Oxford Circus. 

Violet Powell, 23, a student from Leeds who took part in the action, said: “Our country is complicit in genocide. Both major parties refuse to acknowledge the horrors they’re enabling or to call for an arms embargo on Israel. 

“What good is voting when the outcome is the same? For a future to be liveable and to not have regrets, I must take action now. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise. 

“Join us for a week of action in central London from July 13 to 20,” she added.