London Marathon runners and spectators are being told to avoid a key part of the race route this Sunday, April 23. 

It comes as planned protests by Extinction Rebellion are set to see nearly 30,000 protesters cause mass disruption. 

The act is part of the climate group's scheduled four-day protest in central London from Friday to Monday with Sunday seeing them head to Westminster for the final stretch of the marathon. 

Ahead of the event, Hugh Brasher, event director for the TCS London Marathon, advised people to “watch the marathon from other locations and avoid the Parliament Square area on the day”, as the square and “immediate surrounding area” will be “very busy”.

London Marathon to be Disrupted by mass protests 

Brasher's advice comes as Energy Secretary Grant Shapps condemned Extinction Rebellion (XR) for risking “creating massive disruption” to the marathon, which the organisation denies is the case.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Shapps wrote: “The London Marathon is one of the UK’s biggest charity fundraisers.

“Extinction Rebellion seem to think creating massive disruption is a good idea – which beggars belief!

“Those who idiotically put £MILLIONS in marathon donations at risk must be stopped.”

But XR co-founder Clare Farrell said the group has “no intention to disrupt their event”.

In a statement, she said: “We have been in dialogue with the marathon organisers since November to make sure we can hold both events at the same time and support one another.

“We have reassured them that we have no intention to disrupt their event."

On Tuesday, her fellow XR activist, Marijn van de Geer, said: “Having 30,000 people in the Westminster area may cause some logistical disruption, and there is of course also the London Marathon happening as well, so it is going to be nice and busy in central London over the weekend.”

XR’s programme for the protests states that “the final stretch of the London Marathon will intersect with” its rally, “providing an opportunity to connect with and support those running in the marathon for causes amplified by the climate crisis”.

XR’s planned four-day protest is supported by more than 200 organisations, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the PCS union.