Just Stop Oil has disrupted London rush hour with slow marches for the third day on the trot, infuriating Britons attempting to get to work and school.
The Metropolitan Police announced that they had officers on the scene at Pall Mall, Waterloo Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Victoria Street and Whitehall, but have come under fire for inactivity.
In a video shared online today, an exasperated motorist can be heard pleading to a passing police officer: “Officer, please help me get to work!”, only for the policeman to walk straight past him.
It comes as Suella Braverman said this morning: “These eco-zealots are selfish, they are disruptive, they are causing misery to many people who can’t get to work, who can’t get to hospital, who can’t get to school.
Just Stop Oil blocked roads with slow marches for a third day in a row
PA
“If they’re causing a level of disruption that is serious, which meets the criminal threshold, then the police must definitely intervene and arrest.”
The Home Secretary admitted “these are decisions for the operationally independent police”.
There have been no confirmed arrests so far but the Metropolitan police posted an update on Twitter: “At around 09:54hrs, police issued Just Stop Oil protestors in Whitehall conditions under Section 12 of the Public Order Act to move out of the carriageway as their actions now constitute serious disruption, having slow marched in the road for two hours, disrupting traffic.”
Just Stop Oil is demanding the Government halt with immediate effect all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels.
The organisation has also associated Wednesday’s protests with “nine Ugandan students who are facing their first day of a trial today in Kampala, Uganda.”
Just Stop Oil announced they were marching in solidarity with these students who they claim face “trumped-up charges of Common Nuisance, for peacefully resisting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: “EACOP- a joint project by Total Energies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, will enrich a handful of oil criminals, while generating more emissions than Uganda and Tanzania combined.
“Locally, 10,000 people have already been displaced without compensation to make way for the pipeline – which will also ravage local wildlife and water supplies.”
Suella Braverman has urged police officers to arrest protestors where appropriate
PAThey added: "In the face of this criminal act, Just Stop Oil stands in solidarity with the 9 students on trial today. Thanks to the bravery and persistence they and their supporters have shown, 24 banks and 22 insurers have already pulled out of the project.”
It comes as fears grow that eco-protestors might attempt to ruin King Charles' Coronation, as Just Stop Oil taunt Brits by liking a post on Twitter from an account that provides Coronation updates that showed a map of the monarch's procession route.
On 18 April, Just Stop Oil targeted the Crucible when an activist, who was later interviewed by GB News, doused powder over a table at the World Snooker Championship.
