Eco protesters bring yet more chaos to the M25 in open defiance of Priti’s threats of jail

27 September 2021, 08:53 | Updated: 27 September 2021, 11:36

The group of eco protesters who have brought misery to hundreds of thousands of motorists in recent weeks brought further chaos to the M25 today in a fresh protest in defiance of a court-ordered injunction.

Fifty-two members of the group, which calls itself Insulate Britain, targeted the M25 at Junction 14 near Heathrow Airport in their seventh protest targeting major roads in the south east.

In open defiance of threats of jail they returned to the M25. The group are said to be prepared to "happily accept the consequences" of their actions today, LBC understands.

Some 53 people were arrested and are currently being taken into custody, police confirmed following the protest.

"The road has been cleared and traffic is flowing again," they said.

A man sat in the centre of the road was able to glue his left hand down to the floor before he could be removed.

However, police were able to drag most protesters out of the road before they too stuck themselves down.

Four officers were later able to move the man, cuffing him and taking him away from the road.

Protesters have since been lined up to be processed by police, put into vans and taken away, it is understood.

Josh, a builder, said his whole family were against him blocking the M25 and that he knew he may lose everything by breaching the injunction but "everything else has been tried, sadly, and everything else has failed".

Metropolitan Police tweeted: "We're attending a protest at Junction 14 of the M25 near Heathrow Airport where activists are blocking traffic on a slip road.

"We are on scene and have opened one lane of the carriageway.

"Arrests are being made - we will share updates shortly."

They later added: "A number of arrests have been made at this demonstration. Two lanes of traffic have been reopened as we continue to ease congestion.

"Some activists have used super glue to frustrate our response.

"We are working as quickly as possible to clear the roads and get people moving."

The group blockaded Dover Port on Friday, causing queues of vehicles attempting to cross the Channel.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the government would take further action.

He wrote online last week: "We won't tolerate reckless behaviour on motorways or ports (Dover this morning). I'm therefore seeking a further injunction to prevent this disruption."

A spokeswoman for Insulate Britain told LBC that they would continue taking action until the government made a "meaningful statement".

"Priti Patel, unfortunately, is trying to scare us with an injunction and that shows her lack of character not ours," she said.

"You can't put an injunction on hunger, you can't put an injunction on physics, and we are terrified for our children's future.

"We are sick of over 8,000 people dying every year from the choice of heating or eating."

Another spokesperson - Liam Norton - said in a statement: "You can throw as many injunctions at us as you like, but we are going nowhere.

"You can raid our savings and confiscate our property.

"You can deny us our liberty and put us behind bars. But that is only shooting the messenger.

"The truth is that this country is going to hell unless you take emergency action to stop putting carbon into the air."

The group is calling for the government to "fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain".