Sections of the M25 have been closed as part of the latest protest by Just Stop Oil. A climate change protester has climbed an overhead gantry forcing it to be closed between junctions 6 and 7 in Surrey, police said. Elsewhere, there have been reports that climate change activists are staging protests between junctions 8-9, 13-12 southbound, and 13-14. Junction 25 of the motorway has also been closed anticlockwise. Specially trained police officers are on their way to managing the scene. It comes as a “significant” operation is underway by the Met Police to identify and arrest the climate change protesters. The force is targeting those it suspects are planning “reckless and serious” motorway disruption as COP27 gets underway. Three people were arrested on Sunday and accused of planning public disruption. Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said the force had a “strong reason” to suspect the Just Stop Oil group were intending on disrupting motorways. He added this would be reckless and risk “serious harm to the public”. “There remains a possibility outstanding suspects are still intent on causing unlawful disruption to the public,” he added. “The Met has mobilized specialist teams and drawn police officers from across the capital to respond.” On Sunday, a High Court injunction was granted to prevent Just Stop Oil protesters from disrupting the M25.
From the end of September and throughout October, Just Stop Oil staged 32 days of disruption, which the Met said resulted in 677 arrests, leading to 111 people charged. According to the group, since its campaign began on 1 April, its supporters have been arrested nearly 2,000 times, with five of their supporters currently in prison. The Met, which is conducting the operation in conjunction with the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC), said more than 10,000 officer shifts had been dedicated to policing the protests since the start of October. “These are officers who would otherwise be dealing with issues that matter to local communities, such as knife crime, safeguarding and responding to burglaries,” Mr Twist said. “We are determined to bring to justice all of those who conspire to cause significant and unreasonable disruption to London, or cause damage to buildings, property or valuables.” Police are calling on the public to assist with preventing public disruption from protesters by reporting it to 999.
The climate change action group has been calling on the government to abandon plans to license over 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025 and to do more to help people with skyrocketing energy bills. “Policy failures… will force millions into poverty and fac(e) a choice between heating, eating, or providing the basic essentials for themselves and their families,” Just Stop Oil said in a recent statement. “After decades of climate misinformation and delay, we face an existential crisis. “We are going to lose all we hold dear. “We need to ditch new oil and gas now and we need to change our politics, so that in future everyone can have a say in the decisions that will determine the future of humanity.”
