In response to the recent heatwave, Just Stop Oil protestors scaled road signage on the M25, and three people have been charged with making a public nuisance.
On Wednesday, protesters scaled a gantry over the M25 at the Poyle Interchange between Junction 14 and Junction 15 close to Heathrow Airport, forcing police to stop the highway in both directions and resulting in significant delays that extended well past evening rush hour.
Similar protests occurred near Junction 10 between Cobham and Guildford in Surrey, resulting in nine miles of traffic and hour-long delays, and another protester ascended a third gantry near the QEII Bridge in Essex, causing the highway to be stopped for several hours.
Cressida Gethian, 20, of no fixed address, Emma Mani, 45, of High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, and Alexander Wilcox, 21, of South Fifth Street, Milton Keynes, will all appear in custody at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Friday on charges of producing a public disturbance.
Just Stop Oil declared the M25 a site of civil resistance this week in a statement that was made public just before the protests.
Additionally, the group requested that “no one drive this week from Wednesday to Friday on this motorway because we will be blocking the route.”
“We fully understand the cost and disruption this will cause to the people and ask that they take their demands for compensation to the government which has brought this unprecedented threat to our lives and rights,” the statement’s final sentence read.
Between Junction 12 and 10, bus driver Ashley Reid transports youngsters with special needs between the ages of seven and ten to a school in Leatherhead.
Due to the disruption yesterday, he claimed his students, who began class at 9.15am, arrived at class on the last day of term about 90 minutes late.
The 40-year-old, a Reigate resident, continued, “With their autism [they] found it difficult to understand and keep calm.
We joined [the road] just after 9am and we didn’t arrive at school until 10.45am.
“I felt so bad for them. Today was their final day before the summer break, and they would all be switching courses, so they simply wanted to get to school and spend time with their professors and friends.
“Today was their last day before the summer break.
I agree with the protesters’ purpose, but they are upsetting a lot of law-abiding drivers, therefore in my opinion, they will lose more support than they win.
The Met’s public order crime team is in charge of looking into the protests.
According to the police, the team has already charged 289 persons for obstructing the service’s ability to patrol roadways in the fall of 2021, and 135 of them have already entered guilty pleas.