Three more people were arrested at Heathrow airport on Wednesday (September 18) in relation to the ongoing environmental protest action at the airport.

The Met police said that 24 people in total had been arrested in connection to the protests, which are taking place under the banner of "Heathrow Pause".

Activists from the independent protest group, many of whom have also carried out work for protest group Extinction Rebellion, are trying to draw attention to the severity of the global climate crisis that they say threatens humanity's future on Earth.

In a statement published around 6pm on Wednesday, police confirmed that three men had been arrested in connection to the Heathrow Pause protest action.

"A further three people have been arrested today, Wednesday 18 September in relation to protest activity that took place in the vicinity of Heathrow Airport.

"A 48-year-old male [V], a 47-year-old male [W], and a 47-year-old male [X] were arrested on suspicion of attempting to cause a public nuisance and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

"All three have been taken to a south London police station and remain in custody at this time.

"A total of 24 people have now been arrested as part of this operation," a spokesperson for the Met police said.

The Richmond and Twickenham Times spoke on Wednesday with Dr Larch Maxey, an academic and spokesperson for Heathrow Pause.

Richmond and Twickenham Times: London Heathrow airportLondon Heathrow airport

Reiterating claims from Heathrow Pause on social media, Mr Maxey said that one of those arrested on Wednesday at the protest had been a journalist not taking part in the protest itself.

He described the policing of the protests as "inconsistent".

"The police have been very random and inconsistent in their policing.

"A number of the arrests, like that of the journalist we've seen today, are not actually activists with Heathrow Pause," he told the Times.

Among the 24 arrested in the Heathrow Pause protests have been "independent media and legal people" who were not part of the action, Mr Maxey said.

A Met Police spokesperson did not confirm whether one of the people arrested Wednesday was a journalist.

Since September 12, several of those arrested in connection to the Heathrow Pause protests were arrested "pre-emptively" by police, including the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion (XR) Roger Hallam.

Heathrow Pause have been eager to stress their independence of XR, but their aims are the same.

Both groups are demanding the government take action by declaring a climate emergency and be explicit about the severity of the climate crisis, by committing to de-carbonize the economy by 2025 and by convening a "People's Assembly" of mass public participation to work out the best way to meet the climate crisis.

They say that, although parliament followed local councils in declaring a climate emergency earlier this year, none of those demands have been fully met and so more civil disobedience can be expected.

"We're in a climate and ecological emergency and the government response is absolutely inappropriate and pathetic," Mr Maxey said.

"The survival of our country is at stake, the survival of our society and of our very species is at stake.

"The UN Secretary General (Antonio Guterres) says we have twelve months to turn things around and decelerate our emissions. We have to start now."