Protesters dressed as cleaners gathered outside a bank to urge it to "clean up its act" and “stop financing the climate emergency”.

Extinction Rebellion supporters brandishing brooms and dusters demonstrated outside Barclays Bank in St Albans town centre on November 9.

They protested with banners saying the bank was "grubby" for funding the climate crisis.

Sarah Brenman from Harpenden said: “We have to stop banks financing the climate emergency and Barclays are the worst in Europe.”

This protest in St Albans was part of a national protest in which around 300 Extinction Rebellion activists entered more than 20 branches and cleaned the floors.

St Albans & Harpenden Review:

Extinction Rebellion protesters outside Barclays in St Albans. Credit: Nigel Harvey.

Mangala Patilmead from St Albans said: “The time has come to change.

“As one of the biggest retail banks Barclays have a lot of clout and should be making the right choices.”

According to protesters, since the 2016 Paris Agreement, 33 leading banks have lent $1.9 trillion to the fossil fuel industry and the figure is rising each year.

They also say Barclays is the sixth largest provider of financial services to the industry and the largest in Europe.

They added that Barclays funds Arctic oil exploration and the extraction of fossil fuel from tar sands, which they say is a big contributor to the climate crisis.

Bethany Mogie from St Albans said: “I’m protesting here because for Barclays to be funding Arctic oil exploration is unforgivable.”

St Albans & Harpenden Review:

Outside Barclays. Credit: Nigel Harvey.

The movement is aiming to influence Barclays to invest in renewable energy such as wind and wave power.

A spokesman from Barclays said: “We facilitated £27.3 billion in social and environmental financing last year.

“We are determined to do all we can to support the transition to a low carbon economy, while also ensuring that global energy needs continue to be met.”

Barclays added they published a statement in January and said they aim to help accelerate the transition to a low and zero carbon economy.

This includes specific restrictions and safeguards regarding carbon energy such as thermal coal, Arctic oil and gas and oil sands.

They also said they no longer hold stakes in UK fracking.