Climate activist on day 37 of hunger strike fears he might die outside Parliament for cause

A climate protestor on the 37th day of an indefinite hunger strike outside the Houses of Parliament says that if he dies the country’s reputation will be left in “tatters.”

Angus Rose, 52, is refusing all food until the minister for energy, clean growth and climate change Greg Hands organises a public climate briefing led by the chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance.

He has said he wants the briefing to be televised for the public so that everyone has an understanding of the climate crisis and the risks it poses.

The software engineer from London, who holds a sign which reads “I’m an Uncle on Hunger Strike”, says he is doing this for his nieces and nephews.

“The easiest way to understand why I’m taking this action is, if I were a Ukrainian living in Ukraine I would be risking my life to defend my family and community,” he told LondonWorld.

“Here it is no different than the climate crisis in order of magnitude, more threatening to this civilisation in the UK than a war on Ukrainians.

“Unfortunately, a lot of parents will walk past these signs here and they will try and ignore the issue, pretty much like in the film Don’t Look Up.”

Mr Rose has now lost two stone and nine pounds since he started his hunger strike, but says he won’t give up until the government meets his demands.

“I get so light headed, I feel like I will almost pass out and maybe at some stage I will pass out,” he continued.

“I’ve now got a friend who will bring me in a wheelchair from the hospital back here and I’ll just stay right here.

“If I were to die here in front of the world’s leading democracy, a country that lords itself as being a climate leader, the country’s reputation will be left in tatters.”

Dozens of eminent scientists, including the UK’s former chief scientific advisor Sir David King, have signed a letter of support for Mr Rose’s demand.

“Most climate scientists are now anxious about the future and expect to see catastrophic changes in their lifetimes,” the open letter reads.

“Greg Hands, the minister of state for business, energy and clean growth, all of the pressure of this hunger strike is on his shoulders.

“He’s turned my demand down three times, so it’s not just my voice but the 79 eminent scientists many of whom advise the government on policy.”

The United Nations warned last week that global emissions must peak in the next three years to avert a “catastrophic” temperature rise.

Days after the UN report, Boris Johnson announced plans to build more nuclear power plants, boost renewable energy and extract more oil and gas from the North Sea to help the country reduce its need for Russian fossil fuels following the invasion of Ukraine.

A BEIS spokesperson said: “We are gradually driving down demand for oil and gas, but we cannot have a cliff edge by turning off our domestic source overnight.

“Doing so would put our energy security, British jobs and industries at risk and simply increase foreign imports, not reduce demand.

“Our British energy security strategy sets out a long-term plan to ramp up cheap renewables as we transition away from expensive fossil fuels.”