UK Police Urge Public Not to ‘Directly Intervene’ With Road-Blocking Climate Protests

Screengrab from a video posted by Just Stop Oil of one of their activists being dragged off the street at Harleyford Street, just off Kennington Park Road, London, on Oct. 29, 2022. (PA Media/Just Stop Oil)

Members of the public should not “directly intervene” with climate activists blocking roads, and should contact the police instead, a UK police boss has said.

On Oct. 29, when activists from the Just Stop Oil group simultaneously blocked four roads in London, furious motorists dragged some protesters out of the way.

Commenting on the incident, Matt Twist, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, urged people not to take the law into their own hands.

Twist said the climate group’s month-long road-blocking campaign has caused “significant disruption and frustration among the public in London,” and has diverted police away from dealing with knife crime, burglaries, and safeguarding.

He said the force has arrested 651 people while responding to Just Stop Oil stunts since Oct. 1, accounting for more than 7,900 officer shifts.

‘Frustration and Anger’

The senior police officer said: “I completely understand the frustration and anger felt by the public who are seriously disrupted by a relatively small number of protesters and their deliberate tactics.

“They are affecting people’s businesses, their lives, whether they are on their way to a doctor, a long-awaited hospital appointment, on their way to work, to interviews, or to collect children; I know communities and the public of London have had enough of a very small number of people disrupting them.”

But he urged the public “not to directly intervene” but to call the police.

Twist said police officers need to collect evidence of offences before making arrests and moving protesters, stressing this is key for successful prosecutions.

“We are determined to bring to justice to all of those who have caused significant and unreasonable disruption to London, or caused damage to buildings, property, or valuables,” he said.

Furious Drivers

Just Stop Oil, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, has been urging the UK government to begin the process of winding down fossil fuel production in the country.

The group said on Oct. 29 that 61 of its supporters walked onto Charing Cross Road, Kensington High Street, Harleyford Street, and Blackfriars Road, and sat down holding banners, causing traffic delays at mid-day.

The protest outside Oval Station in Harleyford Street, south London, sparked heated scenes as drivers remonstrated with activists and forcibly tried to move them.

Drivers dragged protesters out of the road but they persistently returned to retake their places.

One driver appeared to accelerate towards them before stopping while another mounted the pavement to get around them.

The police later said officers had removed the protesters and the roads were open again, and a total of 33 people had been arrested and taken into custody.

PA Media contributed to this report.