Just Stop Oil protesters cause widespread disruption to M25on November 8, 2022 at 12:55 pm

Multiple arrests have been made after a second day of widespread disruption by protesters on the M25.

The motorway was blocked and gantries were climbed in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey by Just Stop Oil activists.

They said the action was to “demand that the government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents”.

The Dartford Tunnel has faced disruption since 07:00 GMT and one of the tunnels remains closed.

The Metropolitan Police (Met) said 16 protesters had been arrested on the M25 in a joint operation with Essex, Surrey and Kent police forces.

On Sunday, the High Court granted an injunction preventing M25 protests, meaning anyone involved in any such protest could be found in contempt of court.

The disruption comes as the COP27 climate summit is held in Egypt.

The Met said teams trained to safely remove people who attached themselves to a structure, including those at height, had been used.

The affected locations were:

Police believe some of those involved in the demonstrations could have breached a High Court injunction obtained by National Highways.

Just Stop Oil said in a statement: “We will not be intimidated by changes to the law, we will not be stopped by private injunctions sought to silence peaceful people.

“Our supporters understand that these are irrelevant when set against mass starvation, slaughter, the loss of our rights, freedoms and communities.”

Earlier, Essex Police said the protests would cause “major disruption” to motorists using the M25 to drive from Kent into Essex via the A282 Dartford Crossing.

Both tunnels of the northbound crossing were closed, but one reopened at about 08:45.

Essex Police said due to officers “proactively patrolling the M25”, a woman was arrested within 90 minutes of being spotted on a gantry.

Ch Supt Simon Anslow said: “I completely understand the anger and frustration and want to assure people we are working hard to prevent these criminal acts and to respond as quickly as we can where they take place.

“We have mobilised a significant amount of resources… resources which should be tackling knife crime, helping investigate sexual and domestic offences, and responding to burglaries.”

Just Stop Oil said about 15 of its supporters climbed gantries at “multiple locations”.

In its statement, activist Charlotte Kirin, a 53-year-old social worker and parent from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, said: “In order to survive, we need to take action to stop new oil and gas.”

Hertfordshire Police said it had responded to reports of “protest activity” at junction 20 (Kings Langley), junctions 21a (Bricket Wood) and junction 22 (London Colney) of the M25.

It had closed some lanes for officers to assess the situation, it added.

Surrey Police said it had dealt with protesters who climbed on to motorway gantries on the M25 between junctions seven (for the M23) and eight (Reigate), eight and nine (Leatherhead), and junctions 12 (M3) and 13 (Staines). A number of arrests were made.

Kent Police said two protesters had been arrested at junction 1b (Dartford) of the M25. The force said the motorway remained open, but motorists faced delays following the protest on the Essex side of the Thames estuary.

The Met said eight people had been charged with conspiracy to cause a public nuisance after being arrested on Sunday, ahead of action on the M25 this week.

Essex Police said three people were charged with intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance, after being arrested at junctions 27 and 30 on Monday.

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