Police have arrested more than 20 Just Stop Oil activists for trying to cause “massive disruption to the entirety of the M25” as the group vows to continue its action.
The Metropolitan Police and five forces surrounding London scrambled to stop protesters climbing gantries above Britain’s busiest motorway on Monday morning.
Four people were arrested proactively, while others were detained after attaching themselves to the metal structures or making their way to them equipped for protests.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist told a press conference that over a dozen junctions were targeted as part of a “very significant and coordinated effort to cause massive disruption to the entirety of the M25” during Monday morning’s rush-hour.
“Our intention now is to bring to justice all those who have conspired to bring disruption,” he added.
Despite an attempt to thwart the protests with a proactive operation, protesters managed to climb gantries in several locations, causing lane closures, speed limits and long tailbacks on some parts of the M25.
Mr Twist said it was “unfortunate” that some demonstrators managed to reach their targets but said that the disruption “could have been a whole lot worse” if not for the police operation.
“Police are working very hard to stop this happening again and where it does happen, to move in very quickly, make arrests and get them down as quickly as we possibly can,” he added.
Police have been using the new statutory offence of “intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance”, which was brought in as part of a controversial raft of protest laws brought in by Priti Patel.
Some Just Stop Oil activists have also been arrested for conspiracy to commit the same offence.
Mr Twist said its use was appropriate because of the “intent” of Just Stop Oil protesters to cause serious disruption affecting “tens of thousands of people” across south east England.
He said the group’s plans were “disproportionate to any legitimate right to protest and clearly crossed the line into unlawful activity”, including by breaching a High Court injunction obtained by National Highways.
The senior officer added: “We would like Just Stop Oil to engage with us and we are able to facilitate protest but this isn’t protest, this is criminality where people are taking extremely hazardous steps to disrupt the M25.”
Superintendent Graham Barnett, who led the Surrey and Sussex Police response to Monday’s operation, said the protests had an “impact on people’s ability to go about their everyday life” and took police resources away from the wider public.
The demonstrations came as the latest Cop27 international climate change talks in Egypt got underway.
Just Stop Oil said its activists managed to climb overhead gantries of the M25 in six locations shortly after 7.30am, after contacting the Metropolitan Police and National Highways on Sunday evening to “advise them that there would be major disruption”.
A spokesperson argued that the action was justified because of the government’s inadequate response to the “catastrophic climate breakdown”.
A statement posted online 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.”
According to the group’s own count, at least 678 arrests have been made during the past four weeks of activity and six supporters are currently in prison.
Of the 23 arrests made so far on Monday, four were made proactively in London and one person was brought down from a gantry inside the capital.
A further 18 people were arrested outside London, 14 of whom had climbed gantries and four who were allegedly making their way towards them.
The M25 junctions targeted spanned London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex and Hertfordshire.
