UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps said on Friday that he is seeking a further court order covering all major roads in southeast England to prevent climate protesters from continuing blocking highways as part of their demand to insulate and retrofit homes across the UK
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st October, 2021) UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps said on Friday that he is seeking a further court order covering all major roads in southeast England to prevent climate protesters from continuing blocking highways as part of their demand to insulate and retrofit homes across the UK.
"Activists who invade & glue themselves to roads & motorways represent unacceptable, disruptive & dangerous behaviour. Today, I've instructed National Highways to seek a further injunction covering major roads in the South East to prevent highways from being obstructed," Shapps announced on Twitter after a group of campaigners once again caused disruption on the M25, a highway encircling London, for the tenth times over the past three weeks.
Last week, the government won two legal injunctions to prevent protesters from occupying the M25 and A20 highways, meaning the group's members could be jailed if they block those busy roads again.
However, the warning seemed to have had little effect on campaigners as according to the Insulate Britain movement, eight people who were arrested and later released from custody on Thursday returned on Friday to the M25 with others arrested earlier in the week.
The Metropolitan Police said that 39 protesters were arrested on Friday by the officers "who worked swiftly to minimise disruption to motorists."
Insulate Britain, which claims that the 1,3 billion ($1.7 billion) announced by the government is only 0.2% of what is needed to properly insulate the 29 million homes in the UK, has said that 8,500 deaths in an average UK winter are a result of cold homes, and that thousands of families "have to choose between heating and eating."
