Victoria and Albert Museum praises Extinction Rebellion for creating 'welcoming spaces for all'

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) will host two Extinction Rebellion exhibitions praising the protest movement which brought London to a standstill for creating "welcoming spaces for all".

Banners, stamps, flags, posters and photographs will be displayed at the V&A's Rapid Response Collecting Gallery in South Kensington this weekend to showcase the group's "coherent and impactful visual identity" and "do-it together" attitude.

A high-vis jacket worn by a child protester is among the items on show at the second exhibition, which runs for six months from August at the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green.

The world famous museum said it wants to show how Extinction Rebellion "engages with young families" and "creates spaces that are welcoming for all".

Extinction Rebellion brought some of London's busiest routes to a standstill over 11 days during their biggest demonstrations in April, which resulted in more than 1,100 arrests.

Their actions - which cost the police some £7.5m - included gluing themselves to the London Stock Exchange, staging a "die-in" at the National History Museum and marching on Heathrow Airport.

One man was unable to reach the bedside of his dying father in time because he was held up by protesters blocking the M32.

The V&A exhibitions have attracted criticism from politicians who see it as a distasteful response to the disruption caused by the group.

Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake told The Telegraph: "It's nice to hear that Extinction Rebellion protesters are proud of their family values, but other people have responsibilities too which should be respected.

"The V&A's interest in Extinction Rebellion is peculiar. It gets a huge amount of taxpayers' money and should understand that people need to go about their daily business."

Last week Richard Walton, who headed the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command until 2016, said the group's agenda was rooted in the “political extremism of anarchism” rather than just campaigning on climate change.

Former MEP and Brexit Party backer Margot Parker told The Telegraph: "It is annoying. Blocking the roads and causing pollution - the very thing they want to denounce - is the very thing they caused. They brought London to a standstill.

"I think welcoming spaces are already available in parks across London - they don't have exclusivity on that!"