Drivers clash with eco-mob blocking M25: Moment furious motorist hauls protester away from sit-down demo – as XR splinter cell strikes FIVE junctions
- 20 demonstrators from Insulate Britain cause chaos at J20 of M25 this morning
- Driver is filmed trying to drag protester off road in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire
- Protest is one of at least five across M25 today – others are at J3, J6, J14 and J30
- Insulate Britain is Extinction Rebellion offshoot campaign on heating emissions
Angry motorists tried to pull climate change protesters off the road today after they blocked a junction near the M25 during the morning rush hour.
Some 20 demonstrators from Insulate Britain, which is an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, caused chaos by sitting by traffic lights at Kings Langley in Hertfordshire.
One driver was filmed trying to drag a protester off the road after getting out of their vehicle as the demonstration caused tailbacks along the motorway near junction 20.
Around 50 police officers headed to the scene and stood in a line in front of the protesters before starting to arrest them and put them into vans, reported LBC.
The protest was one of at least five across the M25 today – with four others reported at junctions three at Swanley, six at Godstone, 14 at Heathrow and 30 at Thurrock.
One driver is seen trying a drag a protester off the road at Kings Langley in Hertfordshire today
The man is confronted by other protesters while trying to get the activists off the road today
The protesters caused chaos by sitting on the road at Kings Langley in Hertfordshire today
Insulate Britain is an independent campaign launched on August 20 by members of XR, who want the Government to reduce home heating emissions to zero.
One protester from the organisation told LBC this morning: ‘We are so, so sorry to disrupt people. We want to set the Government a really doable task.’
Among the protesters involved was Gwen Harrison, 43, from Kendal, Cumbria, who said: ‘I am endlessly shocked at the lack of significant action from our government.
‘They need to face up to reality. If don’t cut our use of fossil fuels urgently we will destroy our climate, our economy and the fabric of our society.
‘They are being incredibly reckless. They are betting on technologies that don’t exist. If we spend money now we’ll stop a catastrophe later down the line.’
Around 50 police officers then headed to the scene and stood in front of the protesters today
Officers took the protesters away and put them into police vans at Kings Langley this morning
Police turned up at the scene in Herfordshire today after Insulate Britain caused chaos
Catherine Rennie Nash, 70, a grandmother also from Kendal, said: ‘It’s now proven that our use of fossil fuels has brought permanent change to our climate.
‘The world I was born into has gone, and politicians are not doing enough to stop the damage. The world’s politicians need to be honest.
‘They need to act to protect our kids and grandchildren from a terrible future. We need real action from our government to reduce emissions this year.’
An Insulate Britain spokesman said: ‘We are demanding the Government and Boris Johnson create hundreds of thousands of jobs, lower our emissions, and save lives.’
The organisation added that its actions would continue ‘until the government makes a meaningful commitment to insulate Britain’s 29million leaky homes’.
It claimed that its demands for the Prime Minister were delivered to Downing Street by hand on August 21, but so far no-one from the Government has responded.
Relating to the protest at junction six, a Surrey Police spokesman tweeted today: ‘We’re currently overseeing a protest at junction six M25 reported just before 8am.
‘Number of protesters from Insulate Britain are at the location, slip road closed and diversion being set up. No arrests made at this stage. Please avoid the area.’
The latest wave of XR protests in London which began last month saw 480 people arrested and 81 activists removed after gluing themselves to structures.
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