Lloyd’s of London attempts to shift AGM online to avoid climate protesters

theguardian.com:

Insurance market Lloyd’s of London is urging members to watch its annual general meeting from home next week, amid fears that it will be the latest City event disrupted by climate protests.

Lloyd’s chairman, Bruce Carnegie-Brown, warned members about the potential for disruption at the 19 May AGM back in April, but said in an updated memo that “the risk of disruption has significantly increased”.

“To ensure the safety and security of our members and to allow the meeting to proceed in an orderly and fair manner, it is with regret that I must now strongly encourage all members attending the AGM to join virtually and not to attempt to enter the Lloyd’s Building on that day,” Brown said in a notice aimed at the market’s close to 100 syndicate members.

The warning comes nearly a month after Lloyd’s was forced to close the doors of its landmark Grade I-listed building at One Lime Street, when more than 60 protesters from Extinction Rebellion (XR) used superglue, chains and bicycle locks to block workers from entering.

Lloyd’s has pledged that members will phase out all existing insurance policies for fossil fuel projects by 2030, but activists say the policy does not go far enough.

“We are committed to nonviolently disrupting business as usual until Lloyd’s of London ends its underwriting of fossil fuels,” a spokesperson for XR said. “Instead of trying to hide from public anger by shifting their AGM online, Lloyd’s needs to be brave, take bold action and stop insuring morally hazardous projects.”

XR claimed its protests were already prompting change, with two Lloyd’s syndicates cutting ties with Canada’s controversial Trans Mountain pipeline since April.

A string of City institutions, including HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered,