Protestors attacked the “racist agenda” of a controversial road tunnel as they called on Sadiq Khan to scrap the £1.2 billion scheme.

Demonstrators against the Silvertown tunnel, a road link set to connect Greenwich and Newham under the River Thames, say the scheme will encourage more traffic.

Air pollution will increase in some parts of the boroughs near the tunnel mouth, and the new road will allow huge lorries, increasing heavy goods traffic in the area, they argue.

Transport for London and the Mayor claim the scheme will remove pressure on the nearby Blackwall tunnel and reduce congestion.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: Activists feign death in a 'die-in' protest outside Transport for London offices in Stratford (All photos: Jessie Mathewson).Activists feign death in a 'die-in' protest outside Transport for London offices in Stratford (All photos: Jessie Mathewson).

The project was signed off in November but construction is yet to begin.

With some public transport projects in London now shelved or delayed due to Covid-19 budget cuts, demonstrators want the scheme shut down.

Extinction Rebellion activists, community groups and residents rallied in Woolwich yesterday (Monday August 31) before taking the Dockland Light Railway to TfL offices in Stratford.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: Extinction Rebellion activists dressed as banshees process through Stratford station.Extinction Rebellion activists dressed as banshees process through Stratford station.

Activists dressed as banshees in white gowns with red face paint wailed to mourn the London residents who die early because of air pollution.

The costumed protestors carried 26 pairs of shoes, representing the number of people who die prematurely each day because of toxic air in the capital.

In Woolwich and Stratford they laid the shoes out on the ground before clutching each pair individually while sobbing and screaming.

Activists sung and danced, calling on the Mayor to listen to their warning, before lying on the ground feigning death.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: A 'banshee' climate protestor sobs to mourn the Londoners who die prematurely because of air pollution.A 'banshee' climate protestor sobs to mourn the Londoners who die prematurely because of air pollution.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: Protestors carried 26 pair of shoes representing the 26 Londoners who die early from toxic air each day.Protestors carried 26 pair of shoes representing the 26 Londoners who die early from toxic air each day. Addressing the protest, Extinction Rebellion Hackney activist Bhavini Patel claimed the tunnel has a “racist agenda”.

“Those who are in marginal and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities will bear the brunt of this,” she argued.

More than 70 per cent of Newham residents are from ethnic minority groups, the highest proportion of any London borough.

In Greenwich, some 38 per cent of residents are of ethnic minority heritage, according to census data.

“This is not an individual thing: each and every one of you will be affected,” Ms Patel told the crowd in Stratford.

“Sadiq Khan has failed to recognise the impact in the very community proposes to support – the very community that voted him in.”

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: Hackney activist Bhavini Patel addresses the protest in Stratford.Hackney activist Bhavini Patel addresses the protest in Stratford.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Service ahead of the protest, three Greenwich Labour councillors said backing Silvertown tunnel “totally and completely” undermined the Mayor’s action on air pollution.

Sadiq Khan introduced the Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London last year, which slashed emissions by a third.

Next year he plans to expand the scheme to the north and south circular roads – meaning Silvertown tunnel will be included.

But Cllrs Aidan Smith (Lab), David Gardner (Lab) and John Fahy (Lab) said the road tunnel runs contrary to these policies.

“City Hall thinks it’ll just go away,” said Cllr Fahy. “The Mayor has made lots of positive decisions [on air pollution] but they don’t seem to grasp that actually the fundamental issue is Silvertown Tunnel.”

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: Activists carried a banner through Westfield shopping centre to the TfL building on Endeavour Square.Activists carried a banner through Westfield shopping centre to the TfL building on Endeavour Square.

Stop the Silvertown Tunnel spokesperson Victoria Rance called on residents to hold the Mayor to account.

“We’ve got an election in May: let’s make it count,” she told the gathering in Woolwich. “Threaten not to vote for Sadiq Khan unless he scraps the tunnel.”

Ms Rance told the Local Democracy Service that the anti-tunnel campaign will be “fighting till the end” against the project.

“In a way we’ve done everything we can through diplomacy and normal campaigning, and it’s over to Extinction Rebellion now,” she said.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: Prominent Extinction Rebellion activist Rupert Read (right) waits to speak at the demonstration.Prominent Extinction Rebellion activist Rupert Read (right) waits to speak at the demonstration.

Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Rupert Read – a prominent member of the climate crisis movement – was among the speaker to address a crowd outside the TfL offices in Stratford at the end of the protest, and called for urgent action.

“Doctors understand crises. Doctors swear an oath, and the preface of this oath runs as follows: ‘do no harm’,” he said.

“It’s a simple enough concept but it’s one that our Government and the Mayor of this city are apparently unable to grasp.

“Moments like this, the post-coronavirus reset, don’t happen very often. If we mess up this opportunity there won’t be another like it for a decade any by that time it’ll be game over.”

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: An Extinction Rebellion samba band kicked off the protest in Stratford.An Extinction Rebellion samba band kicked off the protest in Stratford.

But activists were not universally welcomed by shoppers in Stratford’s Westfield shopping centre as they processed to the TfL building.

One man filming on his phone said derisively that the “middle class envionmentalists” were “branching out” by coming to the area.

A spokesperson for the Mayor said Mr Khan wants a green recovery from coronavirus so London doesn’t “replace one health crisis with another”.

“A new tunnel at Silvertown is important because the existing infrastructure is both antiquated and worn out, and it will be funded by a toll, not TfL cash,” they said.

“Crucially, the tunnel will provide a public transport-focused river crossing with improved bus links across the Thames.”

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: Shoes at the protest representing the lives lost in London to toxic air.Shoes at the protest representing the lives lost in London to toxic air.

A TfL spokesperson said the new road will reduce congestion in Blackwall tunnel which will “improve overall air quality in the local area”.

The spokesperson said cancelling the scheme would not mean more cash for other projects, as the private contractor is paying the build costs upfront, with TfL paying back the money gradually once the tunnel is open.

“The vast majority of the funding is coming from private finance that has already been raised,” they added.