Essex Police arrests 70 more people over oil protests

A further 70 people have been arrested following protests at oil terminals, including two who "voluntarily emerged from a tunnel", police said.

Essex Police has now made a total of 250 arrests in relation to the demonstrations and said a small number of people remained at one site.

Protesters want the government to halt new oil and gas projects.

The arrests were on suspicion of a "variety of offences", the force said.

Activists from Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion have been blocking access to oil terminals since Friday.

Essex Police said two people were arrested in Grays on Tuesday evening after they came out of a tunnel "where they had remained in situ for several days".

They were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and causing danger to other road users.

In a video, demonstrators said oil and fossil fuels were damaging the Earth.

Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Nolan said she wanted to "emphasise that policing is not anti-protest".

"We will always endeavour to facilitate protest where we can," she said.

"However, we must be robust when laws have been broken - that is what our community expects of us."

All sites bar one had been cleared of protesters, Essex Police said.

Meanwhile, police in Warwickshire said officers would remain at the oil depot in Kingsbury where there have been protests in recent days.

It confirmed that 88 arrests had been made in connection with the blockade.

"We will always respect people's right to peaceful protest but we are committed to taking action against those who break the law," the force said on social media.

Hertfordshire Police said it arrested 41 people in connection with protest activity on Friday and Sunday at Buncefield Oil Terminal in Green Lane, Hemel Hempstead.

Supt Sue Jameson said: "Protesters securing themselves to fuel tankers and unlawfully accessing an extremely hazardous site not only puts the protesters themselves at severe risk, but also poses a substantial danger to countless other people.

"We are working alongside partner organisations, other affected forces and the Crown Prosecution Service with the view of bringing charges against those involved."

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