Suella Braverman slams Just Stop Oil and backs new powers for police saying ‘the roads belong to the British public, not a selfish minority’ as it is revealed fanatics’ stunts have cost the Metropolitan Police £4.5million in just six weeks
Suella Braverman lashed out at eco-zealot protesters today as it was revealed their traffic-stopping antics in London have cost taxpayers millions in just the past six weeks.
The Home Secretary lashed out in the Commons today as she backed giving police new powers to prevent and end such slow-walking demonstrations.
It came as it was revealed Just Stop Oil (JSO) protests have cost the Metropolitan Police £4.5 million in six weeks.
Activists have been staging demonstrations every day since April 24, mainly marching slowly on major roads in London, but also disrupting high profile events like the Chelsea Flower Show, Gallagher Premiership rugby final at Twickenham and World Snooker Championship.
Up to June 8, nearly 13,770 officer shifts had been used dealing with the demonstrations, Scotland Yard has revealed.
The £4.5 million cost is on top of the £7.5 million spent policing the series of protests JSO staged between last October and December.
The Government is seeking to introduce law changes through a piece of secondary legislation that cannot be amended, known as a Statutory Instrument, because the same proposals were made in a late amendment to the Public Order Bill earlier this year and voted down by the Lords.
Speaking in the Commons this afternoon, Ms Braverman said: ‘People have a right to get to work on time and free from obstruction … the roads belong to the British people and not a selfish minority who treat them like their private property.’
The Home Secretary lashed out in the Commons today as she backed giving police new powers to prevent and end such slow-walking demonstrations.
The demonstrations continued on Monday with protesters marching in various locations including Waterloo near the Imax cinema, Victoria Street (pictured) and Cromwell Road, Chelsea.
Officers have new powers introduced last month to force protesters out of the road if they are deemed to be causing significant disruption, and these have been used in 125 of the 156 slow marches that have taken place so far.
Police said 86 people have been arrested for failing to comply, with 49 charged so far.
The demonstrations continued on Monday with protesters marching in various locations including Waterloo near the Imax cinema, Victoria Street and Cromwell Road, Chelsea.
JSO has pledged to carry on its protests indefinitely until the Government stops granting new licences for gas, coal and oil.
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.’
Mr Adelekan added: ‘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.’
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