A total of 58 people have been charged after the four-day, Just Stop Oil (JSO) protests which shut down parts of the M25 this week.
The Metropolitan Police said it had arrested 63 people during a “major operation to tackle serious disruption” by JSO which on Friday announced it was halting what it called its campaign of civil resistance on the motorway.
Over the last four days environmental activists have climbed gantries above the motorway, forcing it to close in several places.
The Met said 11 people who have been charged are due to appear at various courts on Friday. A police officer was injured during Wednesday’s protests.
Under British law, people in this country have a right to cause disruption to prevent greater harm — we will not stand by.
On Friday, both Essex and Kent Police said they were “proactively” patrolling the M25 in order to detect and prevent any future disruption.
Surrey Police said its specialist protester removal teams worked alongside forces around the M25 this week, including Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent, to “swiftly remove those recklessly disrupting the public”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday his Government is “moving ahead” with legislation to give the police more powers to stop protests by groups such as JSO. His comments came after Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, Ben Spencer, said in the Commons that the M25 protests are “causing disruption and misery to my constituents, including causing problems of access to my local hospital”.
JSO staged 32 days of disruption from the end of September and throughout October, which the Metropolitan Police said resulted in 677 arrests with 111 people charged, and officers working a total of 9,438 additional shifts.
The above summary was derived from the story linked below
Source: 58 people charged over Just Stop Oil protests on M25 – Metropolitan Police
