Isolate Britain protester stuck his face to the road as eco fanatics wreaked mayhem in City of London, hear court
- Four men show up at the Old Bailey over eco-protests that caused ‘chaos’
- An eco fanatic, Matthew Tulley, 44, is accused of gluing his face to the road
An Insulate Britain protester stuck his face to the road as eco-fanatics brought rush hour ‘chaos’ to the heart of the country’s financial sector, a court heard.
Matthew Tulley, 44, Ben Taylor, 38, George Burrow, 68 and Anthony Hill, 72, blocked traffic between Bishopsgate and Wormwood Street in the City of London on October 25, 2021.
The protest against climate change caused a ‘gridlock’ in the capital’s financial district and disrupted the journeys of thousands of commuters, London’s Old Bailey was told.
Sergeant Robert Payne of the City of London Police described the carnage, telling the court: ‘I’ve never seen the junction like it before. It was absolutely stuck. It was chaos. That hub is of paramount importance to the City of London. It was like I had never seen it before.’
Prosecutor David Matthew told jurors the defendants were all part of Insulate Britain, which “for several weeks” was “blocking roads” and was “attracted” to the City of London because of the “importance” of the area.
Matthew Tulley, 44, was reportedly part of the Insulate Britain protest that caused chaos in the City of London financial district in October 2021. He was accused of gluing his face to the road
An Insulate Britain climate change activist with his head glued to the road has been released from London’s Bishopsgate today
Protesters blocked one of the main roads in the City of London, used by buses and commuters, London’s Old Bailey heard. Pictured are Insulate Britain activists on October 25, 2021 during the demonstration
“In the Middle Ages it had walls around it. It has been the heart of the country’s financial sector,” he said. ‘It has its own police force, the City of London Police.
‘The importance of the area caught the attention of Insulate Britain.’
Tulley, from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, stuck his face to the concrete, Mr Matthew said.
The prosecution added that the area was a ‘major bus route’ and between 5,600 and 8,500 passengers were affected by Insulate Britain’s antics.
“There’s nothing wrong with protesting,” said Matthew. “There’s nothing wrong with trying to get your point across. But even if it’s done in a non-violent way, there are limits to what you can do.
“You can imagine the diversions and the effect those diversions would have had on other parts of the road network.”
Sergeant Payne added that the intersection where the protest took place was one of the main routes in the district.
He described seeing a “line of protesters” across the north-south lanes, armed with banners.
Activists armed with banners sat on the road causing a standoff in the City of London (pictured)
“One protester had his face glued to the road. That was the greatest risk of harm to an individual at the time,” he added.
“A number of demonstrators had their hands or bodies glued to different lanes.”
Insulate Britain has demanded a national program to insulate all homes by 2030.
Taylor, of Bury, Lancs, Tulley, Burrow, of Kendal, Cumbria and Hill, also of Kendal, all deny causing any disturbance.
The process continues.