Multiple Cambridge groups stage oil and arms protest at Barclays Bank in centre of city
Multiple Cambridge protest groups staged a sit-in at Barclays on St Andrew’s Street to demand an end to the bank’s investments in fossil fuels and financing of weapons used by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza.
The activists represented local environmental, pro-Palestinian and anti-war movements including Cambridge Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Cambridge Stop the War, Extinction Rebellion Cambridge, Organisation of Radical Cambridge Activists (ORCA) and Silent Rebellion.
The peaceful sit-in took place inside the bank’s premises shortly after it opened at 9.30am on Saturday (15 March). Campaigners explained to staff why they were holding a sit-in at the branch, before giving speeches to customers and staging a ‘die-in’, representing the thousands killed by Israel in Gaza and those who have lost their lives to climate breakdown.
Outside the branch, protesters held Palestinian flags and engaged with members of the public, informing them about Barclays’ support - $26billion of support for oil entities including Shell, ExxonMobil and BP from 2016 to 2022 - for fossil fuel companies, and explaining how they can switch banks.
Members of the group Silent Rebellion held a meditation on the pavement outside the branch. Performers known as ‘oily slicks’ dressed in black to represent Barclays’ oil-soaked investments. A samba band also joined in the demonstration, adding noise and excitement and capturing the attention of passers-by.
Calling the rapidly warming climate “a real threat to life on Earth”, Zoe Flint, a member of Scientists for Extinction Rebellion, said: “What does Barclays do? They continue to finance new fossil fuel projects, thereby locking in their use for decades. They are Europe’s biggest funder of fossil fuels and are stepping back from their already inadequate climate targets. They are profiting from planetary destruction by following the money rather than the science.”
A spokesperson for Cambridge Palestine Solidarity Campaign said: “By providing financial services to, and holding shares in companies that supply weapons to Israel, Barclays Bank is complicit in human rights abuses.
“In breach of the ceasefire agreement signed on January 15th 2025, Israel has now again halted the entry of all aid in Gaza and cut off electricity, meaning that the only desalination plant cannot function. We urge Barclays customers to move their accounts to a more ethical bank.“
A similar demonstration took place outside Barclays Bank in Oxford. In London, pro-Palestine groups marched through central London in the latest show of support for Palestinians.
In February 2024, Barclays announced it will no longer provide direct funding for new oil and gas projects. The banking giant also said it would restrict lending to energy businesses that plan to expand their fossil fuel production.
Barclays was approached for comment.
