The Metropolitan Police has blasted Just Stop Oil who are engaged in a month-long protest across the capital, accusing them of tying up officers who should be out beating knife crime and solving burglaries.
Commenting after the eco-zealots blocked four roads across London at lunchtime today, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said since October 1, the Met has arrested 651 people in connection with the ongoing protests.
He said the size of the policing operation necessary to control the protests means the Met has fewer resources to tackle priority issues such as knife crime.
In a statement, Commissioner Twist said: ‘Actions by Just Stop Oil have caused a significant amount of disruption and frustration among the public in London. We will always provide a proportionate policing response to protest and try to work with organisers so that protests can go ahead safely.’
He said the public expects the Met to act quickly when protesters begin breaking the law. He accused Just Stop Oil of failing to ‘engage’ with his team ahead of protests meaning more officers have to be deployed than would otherwise be necessary.
He said: ‘This impacts on policing resources from local communities. Since October 1, more than 7,900 officer shifts have been needed to respond to this activity to try to keep London moving and minimise serious impact on communities.’
Commissioner Twist: ‘If officers were not helping the central operation to deal with Just Stop Oil they could be dealing with issues that matter to local communities, such as knife crime, safeguarding and responding to burglaries.’
He predicted the level of protests will ‘place a significant burden on the wider criminal justice system’ as well as requiring officers to attend court to secure successful prosecutions.’
Earlier today, tensions flared on the 29th consecutive day of Just Stop Oil demonstrations in London, with fed-up commuters pleading with ‘pathetic’ activists to put an end to the chaos.
At about midday, 61 protesters marched through Charing Cross Road, Kensington High Street, Kennington Road and Blackfriars Road with banners, blocking traffic in both directions.
Some glued their hands to the tarmac while others locked on to one another – sparking concerns of traffic chaos.
At the Kennington demonstration, frustrated motorists dragged protesters off the road in an attempt to make enough room for traffic to flow freely.
‘This is f**king pathetic,’ one person said as he dragged people out of the way.
‘I’ve asked you nicely. There’s people trying to go about their business. For the last time, move.’
Another motorist threatened to ‘crack someone in their f**king face’ if they didn’t move out of the way of his car.
Every time a protester is forcibly dragged from their position on the street, they scurry back to the line at the earliest possible opportunity, sparking mass frustration amongst people unwittingly caught in the chaos.
Police carried protesters away from High Street Kensington on Saturday afternoon
Police said efforts are underway to remove all the protesters from the area and reopen the road to traffic
Tensions flared on the 29th consecutive day of Just Stop Oil demonstrations in London, with fed-up commuters pleading with ‘pathetic’ activists to put an end to the chaos
At about midday, 61 protesters marched through Charing Cross Road, Kensington High Street, Kennington Road and Blackfriars Road and sat down holding banners
At the Kennington demonstration, frustrated motorists dragged protesters off the road in an attempt to make enough room for traffic to flow freely
Another motorist threatened to ‘crack someone in their f**king face’ if they didn’t move out of the way of his car. Pictured: Protesters as they’re dragged from the road
The latest protest marks the 29th consecutive day for Just Stop Oil activists
Police officers remove an activist from a road during a ‘Just Stop Oil’ protest
Meanwhile in High Street Kensington, police are urging people to get off the road in an attempt to ease tensions.
Video shows police undertaking the tedious task of trying to unglue protesters’ hands from the road using chemicals and a spatula.
The protesters were offered goggles to protect their eyes from the fumes within the chemicals needed to free them.
At least three arrests have already been made, police at the scene told MailOnline.
A spokesman for the group said: ‘This is not a one day event, expect us every day and anywhere.
‘Our supporters will be returning – today, tomorrow and the next day – and the next day after that – and every day until our demand is met: no new oil and gas in the UK.
‘We will not be intimidated by changes to the law, we will not be stopped by private injunctions sought to silence peaceful people.’
Anna Berrill, 20, a philosophy student from Leeds who is participating in the demonstration, said: ‘I’m doing this because it breaks my heart to witness the tragedies that are happening and will keep coming because of our actions, and to live in a crumbling world and not do anything is unbearable.’
Grandmother-of-four Helen Redfern, 57, said she’s protesting because she feels ‘it’s the only option left’.
‘Taking nonviolent direct action seems to be the only option left to me,’ she said.
‘The government is not taking the devastating effects of the climate emergency seriously. I cannot sit by and watch people suffering around the world already, knowing that unless we act fast, more and more people will suffer more and more climate related disasters now and in the future.’
The protesters were offered goggles to protect their eyes from the fumes within the chemicals needed to free them
Pictured: Activists blocking the road on Saturday, sparking fury from trapped motorists
Some glued their hands to the tarmac while others locked on to one another – sparking concerns of traffic chaos
A spokesman for the group said: ‘This is not a one day event, expect us every day and anywhere’
The latest protest comes amid a month of chaos in London and the wider United Kingdom due to repeated Just Stop Oil demonstrations
Charing Cross Road has now been cleared and is back open to traffic, Met Police said in a statement.
Work is ongoing to reopen the remainder of the impacted roads as soon as possible.
Just Stop Oil is demanding the government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents.
The latest protest comes amid a month of chaos in London and the wider United Kingdom due to repeated Just Stop Oil demonstrations.
On Friday, two Just Stop Oil activists were arrested after spraying orange paint across a Rolex store in Knightsbridge.
More than 600 activists have been arrested so far in October following a host of stunts, from throwing soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, to scaling the QE2 Bridge and causing more than a dozen major roadblocks.
Other stunts have included blocking Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square, and throwing tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting in the last few weeks.
Met Police said in a statement they’re working hard to clear the protesters and reopen the roads to traffic
The latest protest comes amid a month of chaos in London and the wider United Kingdom due to repeated Just Stop Oil demonstrations
More than 600 activists have been arrested so far in October following a host of stunts, from throwing soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, to scaling the QE2 Bridge and causing more than a dozen major roadblocks
Just Stop Oil activists have blocked four roads throughout central, south and west London – marking the 29th consecutive day of chaos
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