Extinction Rebellion protesters occupy the Walkie Talkie building in London in latest action

Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists have staged a protest at London’s Walkie Talkie building as part of the group’s latest wave of action.

Climate activists occupied four major insurers in central London as the movement launched its week of action to “stop the insurance of climate chaos”.

Teams of protesters dressed in business clothing, entered the lobby of four major insurance companies - Tokio Marine Kiln, Probitas, Travelers Europe and Talbot at 8.30am on Tuesday morning (February 27).

They are now staging an 'indefinite occupation' as they demand companies talk to them about "insuring climate-wrecking oil and gas".

Protesters Liz Pendleton said: “We are here to engage constructively with insurance bosses about their decision to insure the fossil fuel crooks wrecking the climate. We're staying until they come down and talk to us.

“The insurance industry has a unique opportunity to immediately halt all the ‘carbon bomb’ projects like the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline and the West Cumbria coal mine that will cause climate breakdown and a future of killer storms and heatwaves, floods, famine and war. 

“It’s very simple. No insurance equals no drilling. No insurance equals no digging. So these companies have a superpower that could give us all a fighting chance of a liveable future.”

City of London police officers attended the scene.

XR says the occupations are part of a week of protest in the UK and across the world by climate activists. They come a week after the group sent a letter to more than 40 insurers in the City of London warning they could face targeted protests unless they met three demands, including a "complete and immediate ban on insuring new and expanding oil, gas and coal projects, infrastructure and operations".

The occupying activists unfurled banners saying “Fossil Fuel Insurance is our Death Assurance” and “Insure our Future - not Fossil Fuels” and invited insurance workers to sit down and speak with them to talk through how the insurance industry can help insure our future.

A large group of XR protesters also held a Fossil Fool Tour around the City, carrying broken umbrellas symbolising the "insurance industry's failure to protect us".