M25 protests: Arrests made as Insulate Britain activists block motorways

Forty-one people have been arrested after climate activists held fresh motorway protests.

Insulate Britain blocked the anti-clockwise exit slip road at junction 18, Chorleywood, Herts, on Monday.

A separate protest took place near junction four (Stanborough Interchange) of the A1(M), near Hatfield.

A third incident saw Kent Police prevent protesters from gaining access to the M25 carriageway at junction 1a, the Dartford River Crossing.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, called the protests "irresponsible" and "dangerous".

Kent Police force said officers attended at 08:30 BST and arrested 12 people on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

Hertfordshire Police said 13 people were arrested at the M25 and 16 at the A1(M).

The force said officers had been called to the M25 at 08:12 BST and to the A1(M) protest just minutes later.

Several people at both protests had been glued to the carriageway.

Shortly before 11:30, the force confirmed the roads were clear and had reopened.

Ch Supt Nick Caveney said: "Protesters have made it clear that they intend to continue causing disruption.

"Not only is purposely blocking a highway incredibly dangerous, it also affects thousands of members of the public who are stuck in delays as a result."

He said the force had "robust "plans in place to minimise disruption and officers had been on the scene "within minutes".

In a tweet, Insulate Britain, which is calling for government action on home insulation, said blue paint had also been poured on to the road during the protest at the M25, "leading to further disruption".

One of the protesters, who did not want to be named, told BBC Three Counties Radio the blockade had been about "the millions of lives we are going to lose not just here, but everywhere, if we don't do anything".

He said: "The scale of what is coming with the climate crisis forces us to take action.

"The measures are disruptive and they unfortunately have to be. This is no fun doing this. We are running rapidly out of time.

"We are stepping up because the government is critically failing."

He said further blockades were planned and that protesters were willing to go to prison to make their point.

Police have come under pressure from the government to clamp down on the protests and limit disruption.

Previous protests led to major delays and a large number of arrests.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Shapps called for the protests to "stop and the police to intervene".

"It's completely counterproductive as well because they're actually creating the pollution they want to get rid of by having cars standing still, so there's no justification for that kind of action," he said.

"The police will have to work out their approach and tactics, but it's not right for our roads to be blocked for illegal protests like this to take place, and for it to happen repetitively.

"I've no doubt at all the police will want to learn from their experience and make sure they're able to step in more quickly and efficiently."

In a letter to Highways England, Insulate Britain said it was "entirely proportionate to create disruption" to keep the government to "its legal obligation of staying below 2C".

Prior to the protest, the group had also called for Highways England to reduce the speed limit on the M25 ahead of the blockade.

A statement from the group on Sunday had said: "Insulate Britain are asking the Highways Agency to review their previous decision not to reduce speed limits, even though they had been made aware that major disruption will be taking place.

"Given that this is a standard safety procedure when hazards occur on the motorway, Insulate Britain is surprised it has not formed part of the response to the campaign."

In response to previous Insulate Britain protests, the government said: "People's day-to-day lives should not be disrupted, especially on busy motorways where lives are put at risk and resulting traffic delays will only add to vehicle emissions.

"We are investing £1.3bn this year alone to support people to install energy efficiency measures, and our upcoming Heat and Buildings Strategy will set out how we decarbonise the nation's homes in a way that is fair, practical and affordable."

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