With his trench coat collar turned up, flat cap pulled low and a dusting of salt and pepper stubble, Paul Stephens resembles nothing so much as an archetypal veteran detective, which is what he is. He served in the Metropolitan Police for more than 30 years before retiring in February 2018 after 13 years as a detective sergeant.
Today he is an Extinction Rebellion (XR) climate activist. The protestors ridiculed as “hemp-smelling” and as the “importunate nose-ringed” in a recent speech by Boris Johnson have among their ranks lawyers, doctors and ex-police officers. As their police liaison, Stephens, who is 55, has been helping with everything from informing protestors of their rights and the consequences of illegal activity, to negotiating with river police over where a hot pink boat with “CLIMATE EMERGENCY” displayed on the side could moor on the Thames at Westminster.
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