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Just Stop Oil stages ANOTHER slow march during the morning rush-hour – as police reveal they have arrested 86 eco zealots over the last six weeks, costing them £4.5 million (so far)
Eco-zealots caused commuter chaos once more as they blocked several key London roads with ‘slow-marches’ this morning – as police reveal the protests have cost £4.5million.
Protesters descended on Lambeth Road in central London from 8am and were spotted near a cinema in Waterloo just minutes later.
Small groups of eco-warriors gathered in Whitehall and nearby Victoria Street, where they moved from the roads by 8.30, and on Cromwell Road in Chelsea, where a meagre 20 protesters were cleared by 8.46am.
Police officers issued Section 12 orders and removed the demonstrators from the roads within minutes of arriving.
Figures from the Metropolitan Police show that the six weeks of Just Stop Oil protests had cost the force nearly £4.5million as of last Thursday.
Figures show that the six weeks of Just Stop Oil protests have cost the Met nearly £4.5million
Protesters gather near Cromwell Road on Monday morning, kicking off another week of ‘slow marching’ protests
Officers have been moved from dealing with local policing priorities for the equivalent of almost 13,770 shifts and 86 arrests have been made.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, said: ‘In deploying the new tactics of moving slowly in front of traffic along highways, Just Stop Oil’s intent has been clear on disrupting road users.
‘This has caused significant impact to the public and officers have been responding as swiftly as possible once aware of the incidents.’
For the 156 slow marches that have taken place, 125 Section 12 Orders have been imposed. Section 12 orders are designed to help reduce disruption and prevent criminal damage.
Just six protesters marched down Victoria Street in central London and were cleared from the road by 8.30am
Traffic was held up by the six orange-vested protesters, who walked slowly down Victoria Street
The climate activists carried signs saying ‘Can’t eat oil’ and ‘We won’t die quietly’ during their slow march
Police figures show that the six weeks of protests have already cost the Met nearly £4.5million
Further police figures show that for the 86 arrests made, 49 charges have been brought.
DAC Adelekan continued: ‘We know that this action has been very frustrating for the public who just want to carry on with their day-to-day business.
‘We would urge the public not to intervene or take matters into their own hands, but to call the police, let us know where the incident is and we will get to the scene quickly.
‘It may look like we are not responding quickly enough, however policing protests is complex and there are steps officers must take to make sure our response is lawful and appropriate.
‘You can see from both the arrest and charge figures that we are taking this operation very seriously, and once a protest is deemed to have caused serious disruption or may do so, we are taking swift action to stop it.’
The climate campaign group tweeted after the demonstrations began: ‘ The sweet sounds of the dawn chorus as Just Stop Oil supporters begin week 8 of slow marching.’
