ACTIVISTS brought Birmingham to a standstill during rush hour today to demand urgent action on the climate change emergency.

Some 30 Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters disrupted the busy Belgrave Interchange, causing gridlock for over an hour.

Demonstrators walked out into the carriageway for seven-minute periods, with some walking among the drivers to explain their reason for protesting.

Police attempted to stop the protest by asking the group to step out of the road as drivers, whose vehicles were backed up the Queenway tunnels, were inhaling fumes.

One protester said: “Police asked us not to block this side of the road, because drivers are getting stuck in the tunnels.”

“So they’re concerned about people breathing in the air, because of the fumes.”

Another demonstrator said they were “happy” to co-operate with police because the key was to get their message across.

XR, along with climate charities, has asked the British Fashion Council (BFC) in a letter to cancel London Fashion Week, following the cancellation of Stockholm Fashion Week.

The campaign group has creative disruption actions planned through the duration of London Fashion Week in September.

XR said that the “theatre of excess” that surrounds fashion weeks is hugely out of step with the climate emergency that we face.

The group argued that the fashion industry, one of the world’s most influential, is a major polluter, as well as being plagued by labour rights issues and animal abuse.

Activists insisted that as “a cultural barometer of the times,” fashion has a responsibility to tell the truth about its environmental impact.

BFC CEO Caroline Rush responded to the letter by agreeing to “the need to act,” but said they “use the platform to communicate not just to the industry, but to the wider public, that not all businesses are equal, that those that support a better future, are committed to change, are those that should be supported.”

The two sides will meet and “share their plans.”

XR “Boycott Fashion” member Sara Arnold said: “We understand that the British fashion industry is trying to change its ways, but fashion weeks are fundamentally at odds with the urgent need to stop needless consumption and to direct resources to regenerating nature.

“Humanity cannot afford for London Fashion Week to continue.”