Activists climbed at 7:30 a.m. (6:30 GMT) on motorway gantries on the M25, a major thoroughfare that circles the British capital, the group said in a statement. They “forced the police to stop traffic”.
This new action by Just Stop Oil came as world leaders gather at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Monday. It is part of the group’s campaign “to ask the government to suspend all new licenses and permits for oil and gas”.
People arrested
However, on Sunday evening, police announced they had carried out “a major proactive operation” to identify and arrest people “with intent to cause serious disturbance”. Three people were then arrested.
“We suspect that the intent of these people is disproportionate to any legitimate right to demonstrate,” police wrote in a statement at the time. On Monday morning, four more people were arrested in south London “for conspiracy to cause public nuisance”, police said.
Just Stop Oil led a month of powerful action in London in October. Activists have thus placed the wax statue of King Charles in Madame Tussauds, thrown tomato soup on Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” at the National Gallery or splashed paint on an Aston Martin dealership.
“Civil resistance is inevitable and justified. It will continue until the UK government changes course. [ā¦]. We will not die in silence, a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said in a statement on Monday.
Six members of Just Stop Oil are currently in prison after taking part in various actions.