Protesting activists superglue themselves in UK Parliament

The environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion said Friday its supporters have superglued themselves to one another in a chain around the chair used by the speaker in the UK's House of Commons chamber.

A photo posted on Twitter showed three activists hand-in-hand in front of the seat while two other members held up signs. One sign read “Let the people decide” and the other noted “Citizens’ assembly now.''

The protest comes as the nation's Conservative Party wraps up a seven-week election campaign to choose a new leader. The prolonged process has often seemed remote from the country’s growing turmoil with soaring energy bills and rising inflation.

“We are in crisis. And what goes on in this chamber every day makes a joke out of us all. We can not afford to carry on like this," the protesters said in a speech inside the chamber, according to a statement sent to reporters by Extinction Rebellion.

The protesters also criticised the UK's political system as having failed the public, saying: “We need a Citizens’ Assembly, now. Citizens’ Assemblies empower ordinary people to make decisions that benefit everyone. Decisions that can get us out of this mess and make life better, safer, fairer for all of us.”

The group added in its statement that it plans to bring 100,000 people onto Britain's streets in an act of "civil resistance" next spring.