UK police say 1,065 climate protesters arrested in last week

Police speak to a demonstrator on the main thoroughfare on Waterloo Bridge in central London, Saturday April 20, 2019. Climate protesters with the environmental pressure group Extinction Rebellion are once again shutting down parts of London using civic disobedience to urge residents and government to do more to protect the Earth from rising temperatures.(Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

Police forces surround a boat at Oxford Circus in London, Friday, April 19, 2019. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

British police say more than 1,000 people have been arrested since mass climate change protests began in London one week ago.

Police said Monday the arrest total stands at 1,065 since Extinction Rebellion set out to paralyze parts of central London to emphasize the need for sharp reductions in carbon use. Only 53 of those people have been formally charged with criminal offenses.

Police say Waterloo Bridge was reopened to vehicles overnight, having been occupied by the demonstrators since last Monday.

Officials say protest sites at Oxford Street and Parliament Square had been cleared the day before.

The non-violent protest group is seeking negotiations with the government on its demand to make slowing climate change a top priority.