The controversial new Public Order Act 2023 came into force today (May 3), yet Just Stop Oil defied the government to take to the streets - and 16 protesters were arrested in Parliament Square.
The 55-strong group of climate activists were conducting a slow march through Westminster in London before the police imposed a Section 12 Order ordering them to protest on the pavement, not the road, when marching in the boroughs of Westminster and Southwark before 6pm.
The slow march, a tactic which has been used all week, was halted just before 1pm when the arrests were made. Last Friday, new legislation was also introduced to tackle this protest tactic, and support the new Public Order law which means longer jail sentences and larger fines for protesters from today. This controversial bill is specifically designed to limit the disruptive powers of pressure groups such as Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion.
Many of the group refused to comply with police officers’ orders resulting in their arrests, including carpenter Cameron Ford, 32, who told the Mirror as he was handcuffed, “I’m here to stop the oil and gas. I don’t know what else to do. The government isn’t listening to anyone.
"Civil disobedience has shown us in history that in a radical time frame that’s all we left to bring about the radical changes needed. The government is not listening, they brought in the Public Order Bill to silence this, not because they cared about the public. If they cared about the public they’d stop the oil and gas. The Public Order Bill is a Just Stop Oil Bill and we will not be just stopped.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has made no secret of the fact that the new act is to limit eco-zealot’s powers. On Tuesday, she said in a statement, “The public shouldn’t have their daily lives ruined by so-called ‘eco-warriors’ causing disruption and wasting millions of pounds of taxpayer money.
"The selfish minority must not be allowed to get away with this. We are giving our police and courts the tools they need to stop this chaos and I back them in making full use of these powers.”
The group’s subdued protest, which calls for the government to halt new fossil fuel licensing and production, is a far cry from their more outlandish tactics such as scaling the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, invading the Grand Prix or throwing soup at priceless artwork.
Chris, 46 and a nursery school teacher from Cambridgeshire, was among the activists and believes it is sickening that their peaceful protest, which didn’t block cars for long, was shut down in Parliament Square.
“In the heart of democracy,” he said. “Where else is there to protest if not, at the very heart of government, the heart of democracy? We were right next to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. He is the father of peaceful protest, and he is venerated in Parliament Square yet his values are ignored.
The new laws are coming in to squash protests and to arrest us. We’re just peaceful protesters trying to look out to the future. When there is a protest you don’t say come on let’s take to the pavements,you say come on lets take to the streets!”
However not everyone was in support of the slow march protests, with London cabbie John Walker, 55, becoming frustrated as he waited in a traffic jam behind the group shortly after midday.
“I’m a taxi driver and I’ve spent 70,000 pounds on an electric taxi,” he said. “I need to earn a living to pay for this. These people are stopping me doing it in a traffic jam. Everyone agrees that we should cut down on greenhouse gases, but they are causing more of a problem they’re solving. They make everyone angry. I think the rule has to be changed.”
Sam Johnson, 40, from Norwich was also arrested by police. He said, “The Public Order Bill makes all effective protests illegal. It’s really important for people to know that their basic rights or basic human rights have been abused.”
The new order came under fire from the United Nations just last week, with the Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk calling the legislation “deeply troubling” and saying it imposed restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly that are “neither necessary nor proportionate”.
However, for people like Steve Brady, 55, who has driven his van from Chichester to work on air condition units the slew of arrests will be welcome. “I have customers waiting,” he said. “It’s just frustrating. I think they are creating more issues than they are trying to solve.”
