Environmental protestors have been forcibly removed by the MET Police this morning after illegally supergluing themselves to busy roads.
The forty Insulate Britain protestors demonstrated on Junction 25 of the M25 and Old Street roundabout in Central London. Carrying Insulate Britain banners and adorned in Hi – Vis jackets, the lobbyists glued their hands to the roads, to campaign for better insulated housing.
Insulate Britain, a splinter group from Extinction Rebellion, have been protesting since the 13th of September, when members of the group blocked junctions of the M25. Today marks the 12th protest Insulate Britain have organised.
The groups main point of contention stems around the lack of insulation in British housing. The group has demanded that all social housing in Britain be retrofit with insulation, to reduce the consumption of energy needed to warm homes.
“Social Housing is just the first part” Spokesperson Liam Norton said. “If you look at peoples campaigns in the past, they pick a winnable issue. Gandhi, for instance, picked the salt tax, and it was an incredibly successful campaign.” Mr Norton compared the group to the likes of the Freedom riders.
British housing has been observed to be some of the least well insulated in Europe. According to the The Conversation, 15% of Britain’s greenhouse emissions originate from heating British homes. Comparatively the industrial sector produces 10% and the farming sector 2% of British greenhouse emissions.
Members of the group have blocked roads on the M25, A1(M) and the Port of Dover. The protest at Dover saw forty marchers block the roads into Europe’s busiest ferry port. Many of the protestors were detained and arrested.
Government officials such as PM Boris Johnson and Home secretary Pritti Patel have criticised the groups protests for disrupting traffic on the busy motorways. A new policy is being considered to oppose protestors causing substantial disruption, which includes greater legal action against protestors. Today’s protests on the M25 breaches the injunction.
Campaigners have also been opposed by motorists, with some reported cases of physical abuse towards the protestors. Footage has emerged of a woman pleading with the protestors to let her pass to see her sick, elderly mother. The group were today observed to let an emergency services ambulance through.
“The next five years are vital, in terms of creating rapid social change” Mr Norton finished. “Because if we don’t, we’re finished.”
By Christian Thomsett