In response to growing resentment at Britain’s “woke” forces, the cops made it look as if they were helping the eco-fanatics who had blocked highways and dug tunnels close to oil refineries during a demonstration yesterday.
30 anarchists from the XR-affiliated Just Stop Oil organisation disrupted the morning rush hour in Grays, Essex. Ten of them staged a sit-down protest on a road next to the M25, while others occupied an oil terminal nearby and others blocked access roads to the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire.
Mark Coleman, a retired priest from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, who often participates in climate change demonstrations, attended the Grays rally. Coleman is 63 years old. At least one police officer gave him water, despite the fact that the group’s actions made driving a nightmare for hundreds of drivers.
The scenes, despite the fact that police made more than 20 arrests, are likely to inflame anger toward what critics have labelled the increasingly “light touch” policing of many British forces. It is alleged that these forces take varying approaches to different protests and prefer to spend more time “policing tweets” than combating a rising tide of violent lawlessness in cities like London and Liverpool.
Following their participation in a Macarena dance at a Pride celebration over the weekend and what seemed to be bragging by broadcasting footage of the routine from the force’s official Twitter account, Lincolnshire Police officers have come under fire.
Nine protesters, including two in Grays and two in Kingsbury, were also occupying tunnels, according to protest organiser Just Stop Oil.
One protester, who went by Stephanie, recorded a video of herself in one of the tunnels online with the warning: “We really don’t have much of a choice to be here if I want to safeguard my two children’s futures,” she said. “I’m really battling to breathe, mainly because I’ve got bad asthma.”
Sam Holland, a 20-year-old student from Leeds who participated in the Grays rally where some demonstrators had adhered their hands to the ground, made the following statement: “Consenting to additional fossil fuels means consenting to the collapse of our food systems.”
Angry at Lincoln Police for being “woke” after officers were caught on camera dancing the Macarena at the Pride festival yet the number of unsolved crimes in the UK is still high.
After video of Lincolnshire Police officers doing the Macarena at the city’s Pride event was shared to the ‘woke’ force’s social media account, it drew criticism.
After many postings from the event showing on-duty police officers enjoying fun, including the video of policemen dancing, appeared on the force’s social media sites, the locals responded angrily.
Residents criticised the police coverage, questioning why cops weren’t deterring violence on the streets instead of spending time at the event.
Chief Constable Chris Haward, however, has responded to criticism by stating that police were there to make sure everyone has a “safe” Pride.
As long as it did not cause them to be distracted from their responsibilities, he said, he “anticipated” his police to interact with the neighbourhood and “join in, even dance.”
Just a few hours later, the city had to issue a dispersion order due to a number of significant clashes.
Jeannie Donald-McKim, an Oxfordshire native and activist from Warwickshire, said: “People are growing desperate.” The time for speech has gone out. The time to act is right now.
In Warwickshire, police are refusing to close the road above the tunnel, endangering the lives of those underground, tweeted the protest group coalition Just Stop Oil.
The protests were held in advance of Just Stop Oil’s planned weeklong blockade of Parliament beginning on October 1 in protest of plans to increase the exploitation of oil and gas from the North Sea.
We won’t submit to the demands of protestors who mistakenly want to stop North Sea oil and gas development, a government spokesperson said.
“Doing so will merely boost foreign imports while not lowering demand, putting energy security and British employment at risk.” He noted that the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy will happen “over the next decades.”
I am beyond furious over the government’s intentions to allow additional oil and gas projects in the UK, said Catherine Rennie-Nash, a retired teacher from Kendal, Cumbria, who was among those demonstrating in Essex.
“I can do nothing except participate in civic resistance.” We must realise that the government is not defending us. The rising cost of living issue, exorbitant gasoline prices, and new oil and gas are all choices.
Government is permitting these criminal organisations to take our riches and destroy our future.
The 58-year-old teacher from Witney, Oxfordshire, who is participating in the protest today in Kingsbury, said: “Our addiction to oil is causing the biggest cost of living crisis in 40 years and fueling the collapse of the environment.”
“People are becoming hopeless. The time for speech has gone out. The moment to act is right now. I want everyone to get involved and join us. Now is the time to get together and fight back. We’re up to the task.
When asked whether she wanted the rest of her life to look like this, 20-year-old Anna Holland, a Newcastle University student who is also engaged in the Kingsbury protest, said, “Do I want the rest of my life to look like this?”
“Do I want this year to be the greatest of the 2020s despite the expense of living issue, the climate collapse, and the fatal weather?” Because if we don’t act and bring about change right now, that is the reality we will confront.
According to Just Stop Oil, their demonstrations starting in October will be more significant than past XR disruption and might lead to the largest civil disobedience movement in British history.
The protests aim to oppose government proposals to let energy goliaths like BP and Shell to increase oil and gas exploration and production in the North Sea.
A coalition of organisations known as Just Stop Oil is attempting to persuade the government to stop issuing any new permits for the exploration, development, and production of fossil fuels.
Major demonstrations have already taken place at refineries and on highways.
It uses techniques akin to Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain, whose members have wreaked havoc by attaching themselves to cars and other moving objects.
Energy executives this week demanded the elimination of the yearly bill hike of £1,700 amid predictions that inflation could soar to a startling 18%.
Industry leaders demanded bailouts as well, arguing that a pint of beer would cost $25 if the price of alcohol had increased at the same pace as wholesale gas.
According to Octopus Energy, home energy expenses are expected to increase from £15 billion in a typical year to £75 billion. This is what is causing inflation to soar.
Bosses have now said that the magnitude of the situation necessitates a large bailout for suffering families in the same manner as the emergency reaction witnessed during the epidemic.
The little dancers in the blue line: The cops who DANCE while on duty, from TikTok skits to Pride celebrations and busting moves at the Commonwealth Games
After participating in a Macarena performance at a Pride event over the weekend, police officers came under fire from certain quarters for not taking their jobs seriously enough.
After numerous posts from the festival, including the video of the officers dancing, were made on Lincolnshire Police’s social media accounts showing on-duty officers having fun, the locals reacted angrily.
Susan Hall, head of the Greater London Authority’s Officers and Crime Committee, echoed their worries when she told MailOnline, “We shouldn’t have uniformed police dancing the Macarena when they should be doing their duties.”
But it wasn’t the first time that uniformed cops on duty joined in the fun at significant occasions.
Five cops were called “disgraceful” in May for dancing in the vein of TikTok in a high-crime area in north London.
The four PCs and a sergeant were captured on camera busting moves to Run-1983 DMC’s hip hop song It’s Like That at an Edmonton “youth engagement” community event.
Some people applauded their performance, which included synchronised moves and lasted about a minute on stage. However, some people weren’t as impressed.
It’s a complete disgrace,’ retired senior Scotland Yard detective Mick Neville told The Sun. Police dancing in the street is not what the public wants to see. There is a lot of crime in Edmonton. These policemen need to be patrolling rather than dad dancing.
In Perry Barr, Birmingham, a month earlier, student officer Gorvinder Chima was seen on camera performing with female dancers at a booth outside the stadium.
In Perry Barr, Birmingham, student officer Gorvinder Chima can be seen performing with many female dancers at a booth outside the stadium.
A lip-syncing policeman performed routines from the Steps’ Scared Of The Dark music video during Brighton Pride in 2019 while sporting rainbow epaulettes and a Hawaiian flower lei.
Additionally, PC Daniel Graham garnered media attention in 2017 for his on-duty antics that amused carnival-goers at the Notting Hill celebration.
While monitoring obstacles during the festival, the dancing cop was even informed, “You must be an undercover raver.”
However, in the years that followed, cops were forced to comply with a dancing prohibition in order to prevent distraction and “keep a closer watch on what’s going on” nearby.