Just Stop Oil protesters have caused a standoff in part of central London this morning after staging a demonstration.
More than 160 eco-activists, who staged uninterrupted demonstrations for more than a month last year, have blocked roads in the Haymarket region and around Waterloo, causing chaos during rush hour.
The group says it is the first day of an “indefinite campaign of civil resistance to end Britain’s new oil and gas project,” with similar protests taking place in the West End, Westminster and South London.
The supporters have been slowly walking in the middle of the capital’s streets since around 7am on Monday morning, prompting cries of ‘get a job’ from angry motorists trapped behind them.
It comes a day after the London Marathon, which was considered a potential target for the environmentalists, but failed to take place amid an apparent schism between the group and Extinction Rebellion.
Just Stop Oil supporters hold a banner in the middle of the road in central London during rush hour on Monday, April 24
Just Stop Oil supporters walk in front of traffic in London on Monday April 24 as part of a series of demonstrations known as ‘The Big One’
However, thousands of XR activists gathered in Westminster and authorities fear there could be a summer of chaos caused by environmental protest groups.
The eco-activists have been seen holding banners as they walked down the street, along with signs that read “betrayed by my government” and “march with Morgan.”
The latter is a reference to Morgan Trowland, a Just Stop Oil supporter who was jailed for three years last week after causing traffic chaos on the M25 by climbing a bridge over the Dartford Crossing last November.
Just Stop Oil claims that starting at 1pm today, hundreds of supporters will march from Parliament Square to the Shell building in Waterloo along with members of XR.
A spokesman for Just Stop Oil said: ‘Asia is boiling in extreme heat and threatening the lives of a third of the world’s people, but this government of criminals and bullies doesn’t care. They are actively making things worse, licensing new oil and gas while silencing dissent and jailing those who resist.
More oil and gas means more heat waves, more crop failures and more deaths. It is the greatest criminal act in human history. The government has lost its legitimacy. They deliberately plan the murder of hundreds of thousands of British citizens.
“In the face of this obscenity, as an act of service and love, we have chosen to act. Civil resistance is our only hope. This is life or death, survival or collective suicide. It’s time to pick a side. We won’t stop until our genocidal government puts an end to new oil and gas.”
The Metropolitan Police say it is working to remove protesters from the roads, saying: ‘Officers are on the scene and we will aim to get traffic moving again as soon as it is safe to do so.’
MailOnline has contacted the Met for further comment.
This morning’s protest sparked anger among motorists who were trapped behind the protesters as they slowly made their way down the road
Just Stop Oil says it plans to stage another march from Westminster to the Shell building in Waterloo from 1pm
Met police said it is working to move the protesters off the road and resume traffic “as soon as it is safe to do so”
It marks the fourth day of protests in the capital, after thousands of XR supporters rolled into the city on Friday, April 21.
Members began setting up pickets outside government offices, with a spokesman saying they expected between 40,000 and 50,000 people to join the demonstrations.
However, fears that the London Marathon could be targeted by Just Stop Oil and other fringe groups such as Animal Uprising were thankfully misplaced, as eco-activists did not want to disrupt the world’s largest running event.
XR protesters in Westminster said yesterday they had warned ‘naughty people’ who wanted to block the race not to do so because they don’t want to look like ‘the bad guys’
But that won’t stop Just Stop Oil from resuming their demonstrations today, with hundreds of supporters set to cause havoc in the capital today.
Pa Bastide, a full-time volunteer with the group marching this morning, said she felt it was her “moral duty” to participate.
The 29-year-old Londoner said: “I was brought up to know the difference between right and wrong, and what this murderous, corrupt government is doing is plain wrong.”
Risking my freedom is the least I can do to ensure that my loved ones and I have a livable future. We must stand up to a government that does not have our best interests at heart and is determined to sell our future, one new oil license at a time.”
Fellow protester Marcin Wawrzyn, who is a construction worker, said: ‘I work in construction and I’m here because the British government is messing with physics laws. New oil and gas is genocide and they know it! I was 10 years old when I first heard about climate change. That was 30 years ago. I’m not going to wait another three decades.’
The 42-year-old Londoner adds: ‘In two weeks I will go back to work and then I will be stuck in this traffic myself. And it’s worth it. And I would say to these people, this is bigger than World War II, the Miners’ Strike and the Berlin Wall, bigger than the Poll Tax Riots. We need a human tipping point. It’s time to pick a side. We can win this. Join Just Stop Oil on a slow march every Saturday at noon from Parliament Square.”
Just Stop Oil protesters slowly walk down the road through Piccadilly Circus on Monday morning
The latest protest comes after two Just Stop Oil supporters were jailed for a total of five years for a demonstration that saw them climb a bridge over the Dartford Crossing.
Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker forced a road across the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 between Essex and Kent, to be closed for more than a day when they climbed it in November last year.
Judge Shane Collery KC sentenced Trowland to three years behind bars and Decker to two years and seven months in prison and said that imprisoning the couple would hopefully deter anyone else from taking part in similar demonstrations.
“You should be punished for the chaos you’ve caused and for stopping others from copying you,” he said.
The judge said Trowland, who has six previous convictions related to protests, had a “leading role” while Decker had one previous conviction related to a protest.
The judge said the couple “clearly believed you knew better than everyone else,” adding: “Basically, to hell with everyone else.”
“Your actions have caused this very important road to be closed for 40 hours,” the judge said, noting that the disruption affected “many tens of thousands, some very significantly.”
Just Stop Oil said, apart from the usual aim of countering oil and gas expansion, today’s marches are being held in solidarity with Trowland, Decker and five Insulate Britain protesters currently in prison.
