Protestors who climbed the QEII bridge have been arrested
They came down last night
Last updated 19th Oct 2022
Two people who had climbed the Dartford Crossing have now been brought down and arrested.
Yesterday, Essex Police brought in specialist equipment in an effort to bring a protest, which has shut the QEII bridge on the Dartford Crossing, to an end.
Two Just Stop Oil demonstrators scaled the cabling of the bridge on Monday and refused to come down for 36 hours.
The bridge was closed on Monday and Tuesday, leading to heavy traffic on both sides of the crossing in Essex and Kent.
The environmental activist group has demanded that the Government "halts all new oil and gas licences and consents".
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow, who led the operation, said:
“We cannot tolerate people carrying out activity which puts lives at risk and prevents people from going about their lives.
“I know this has been really frustrating for the public and the disruption has negatively impacted on businesses and meant people have been late for, or missed, appointments.
“Alongside our partners, we worked hard to resolve this complex situation as quickly and safely as possible.
“Now the situation has been resolved, National Highways will make the decision about when and how the bridge can re-open.
“I want to again reiterate; we are not in any way anti-protest, and we will always seek to facilitate safe protest where we can.
“However, it is unacceptable for people to think they can put lives in danger with irresponsible actions. In this case, it is clear that we had to act, but that action had to be safe and responsible, and I want to again thank the public for their patience and understanding.”