Extinction Rebellion campaigners explain dramatic Leeds protest at Millennium Square

The activists were not protesting directly against climate change, but joined a global protest highlighting the inequalities faced by the indigenous people of Central and South America.

At 12pm on Sunday Extinction Rebellion’s Leeds branch organised the social distanced demonstration in the city centre.

A two-metre distance was marked out in cones.

The group say they were highlighting the high Covid-19 death rate of indigenous communities in the continent due to 'lack of governmental support' during the pandemic.

A one-minute silence was held in memory of indigenous people who had lost their lives to Covid-19.

This was followed by a dramatic performance which featured children dressed as animals, while an activist dressed as Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro destroyed a 'human forest'.

Protesters were encouraged to paint their hands red and green and donate to APIB (Coalition of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil) to provide food, medicine and hygiene material for villages in South America.

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Laura Collins