Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch joins Extinction Rebellion protesters in London

Benedict Cumberbatch joined Extinction Rebellion protesters as they prepared to camp out in Trafalgar Square for the third day of the group’s two-week protest.

The Sherlock and Avengers: Endgame star was pictured chatting to protestors on Wednesday night while sitting on the ground outside a black hearse featuring the words ‘Our Future’ surrounded by police officers.

Our rebels were helping guard the hearse in Trafalgar Square tonight when Benedict Cumberbatch dropped by.#EverybodyNow #OurFuture #ExtinctionRebellion pic.twitter.com/UqGX5YfxTV

— XR Richmond-upon-Thames (@xr_richmond) October 9, 2019

• First look at Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy in Louis Wain

Activists said the Sherlock star spent a “good couple of hours” with the protesters, according to the Evening Standard.

More than 1000 people have been arrested since Monday when the protests began, with the Met Police remaining “proactive” ahead of the environmental group’s plans to peacefully shutdown London City Airport.

Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Rupert Read said: “By non-violently shutting down this airport, in homage to the style of the Hong Kong democracy protesters, we are demonstrating the utter frailty of the transport systems that countries such as ours, unwisely, have come to depend upon.”

Cumberbatch, who is currently filming Louis Wain in London, took part in a Letters Live event at the Royal Albert Hall last week, during which he read aloud a letter calling for the protection of green spaces, written by novelist and environmentalist Wallace Stegner.

‘Something will have gone out of us as a species if we let the remaining wildernesses be destroyed.’
Benedict Cumberbatch reads a letter from novelist and environmentalist
Wallace Stegner, written in 1964 but more timely than ever today. pic.twitter.com/zxN5RBZGvY

— Letters Live (@letterslive) October 3, 2019

Extinction Rebellion protests are currently taking place across the world, all protesting for further action against the current climate crisis.