CLIMATE change activists scaled a Scottish landmark yesterday as part of a UK-wide wave of environmental protest.

Members of Extinction Rebellion Scotland climbed the Finnieston Crane by the River Clyde in Glasgow to hang a banner reading “science not silence” as part of efforts to press governments into action aimed at preventing climate change.

Police arrived at the site at around 7am and removed the campaigners, although no arrests were made.

The action is part of an international week of protests calling for governments and councils around the world to declare a climate emergency.

Banners were also attached to the ironwork doors of Glasgow City Chambers, while in Edinburgh activists unfurled another reading “tell the truth” above the city’s Victoria Street.

Meanwhile, in London human roadblocks closed Waterloo Bridge and roads at Oxford Circus and Marble Arch.

Hundreds of people gathered outside Oxford Circus Tube station around a bright pink boat, where some used makeshift devices to lock their arms together.

And in Parliament Square, others unfurled banners, held up placards and waved flags as speakers took to the stage.

Organisers have warned activists they could face arrest for blocking traffic and Transport for London said travellers face disruption and delays.

Campaigners in Scotland have warned they plan to block off Edinburgh’s North Bridge during rush hour today, “disrupting business-as-usual to ring the alarm on the climate and ecological crisis”.

Explaining the reasons for protesting yesterday, one Extinction Rebellion member in Glasgow said: “We are just ordinary citizens and we want the council to act responsibly and save us from this accelerating disaster which may lead to serious flooding and food shortages in Scotland and across the world.”

In January this year, around 40 Extinction Rebellion activists occupied the debating chamber at the Scottish Parliament, staging an hour-long sit-in.

Daryl Tayar, another member of the campaign, said Robert Burns “would’ve been happy” to show his support, stating: “His poetry shows just how much he loved the environment and of course how radical his politics were.

“He said it himself, ‘I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion has broken Nature’s social union’.

“If he were alive today, he’d be asking the City Council to declare a climate emergency urgently.”

Glasgow City Councillor Anna Richardson said: “Members of Extinction Rebellion are part of our Climate Emergency Working Group. This gives them a real opportunity to contribute constructively to the debate on carbon reduction and influence what Glasgow does in the face of a global threat.

“Unfortunately, after their previous protest, precious time, money and resources were wasted when staff had to remove 80 metres of graffiti which had been daubed on roads and pavements.”