Fitness industry rolls orange tank into Parliament Square in lockdown protest
Fitness firms sparked chaos this morning after driving an orange tank through Westminster to protest the sector’s closure during the upcoming lockdown.
Among the protesters was former England rugby international James Haskell, who was filmed releasing orange smoke from the armoured vehicle in Parliament Square.
The disruptive stunt, which was organised by fitness brand Grenade, formed part of industry efforts to lobby the government to reclassify gyms and leisure centres as essential so they can remain open.
Gyms are among the swathes of businesses that will be forced to close their doors when fresh lockdown measures come into force across England at midnight tonight.
In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday, Grenade urged the government to reconsider its position on gyms and leisure centres, insisting they were safe and essential to people’s wellbeing.
“With fitness well documented for its restorative effects in reducing stress, anxiety and depression, it’s imperative that people can continue to exercise regularly over the winter months,” the firm wrote.
“Maybe the issue is that we’ve labelled the industry ‘leisure’. We think it should be labelled ‘essential’, and there’s a lot of people in the country that think that too.”
An online petition to prevent gyms closing has gained more than 566,000 signatures.
“Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus,” the government said in response to the petition. “That’s why we made sure that people could exercise at least once a day even during the height of lockdown – and why we opened up grassroots sport and leisure facilities as soon as it was safe to do so.
“However, we have always made clear that we will adopt a phased approach to reopening based on scientific and medical advice, with the primary goal of protecting public health.”
The prime minister this morning reassured businesses that the new England lockdown will end on 2 December as planned, though he said it would “depend on us all doing our bit”.