Muhammad Mussa
27 September 2021•Update: 28 September 2021
LONDON
UK climate activists on Monday breached a court injunction and staged another demonstration in one of the country’s most busiest motorways.
Members of Insulate Britain, the climate campaign that has organized the demonstrations and sit-ins, breached the High Court order that was issued last week and blocked a section of London's M25 motorway.
"This morning 52 people that have been involved in Insulate Britain's two weeks of motorway protests blocked the M25 in breach of the injunction granted by the High Court last Tuesday,” the group said in a statement.
"You can throw as many injunctions at us as you like, but we are going nowhere. You can raid our savings and confiscate our property. You can deny us our liberty and put us behind bars. But that is only shooting the messenger. The truth is that this country is going to hell unless you take emergency action to stop putting carbon into the air,” the statement added.
Activists occupied the main roundabout that leads to Heathrow International Airport with police detaining some protesters. The sit-in is the sixth time the group has targeted the main artery into London.
Police have confirmed they are at the site of the protest and have arrested and detained a number of activists.
“We're attending a protest at Junction 14 of the #M25 near Heathrow Airport where activists are blocking traffic on a slip road,” the Metropolitan Police said on Twitter.
“We are on scene and have opened one lane of the carriageway. Arrests are being made - we will share updates shortly,” it added.
On 21 Sept., the High Court in London ruled that demonstrators and protesters are prevented from occupying motorways and highways as well as other strategic roads that are linked to the Port of Dover.
The injunction entered into force last week and so anyone caught in breach of the order could face arrest and a prison sentence.
Insulate Britain is a branch of the wider Extinction Rebellion movement. The group runs a niche campaign that seeks to force the government to retrofit homes to cut climate emissions.
