Just Stop Oil protesting on M25 in Surrey
The group say they have declared the motorway 'a site of civil resistance'
Last updated 20th Jul 2022
Just Stop Oil protesters have made their way onto the M25 in Surrey this morning (20 July).
The activist group say they have declared the M25 'a site of civil resistance'.
In post on their website Just Stop Oil have asked people not to travel on Britain's busiest motorway between Wednesday (20 July) and Friday (22 July) as they intend to block the highway.
The group have climbed onto a gantry to display banners and signs.
Surrey Police are currently on the scene and there are long delays on the M25 as a result.
In a statement Surrey Police said:
"Officers are dealing with a protester on a gantry on the M25 past junction 10 of the anti-clockwise carriageway this morning, and three lanes are currently closed.
"We hope to have the area cleared as soon as possible and will keep you informed of further updates via our social media channels. In the meantime motorists should please avoid the area."
A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said: “The main thing is, we’ve just seen 40 degree temperatures, which have been predicted for decades, maybe it’s happening a bit faster. But it has just revealed how inadequate the Government’s preparations for climate change are and their entire policy, and basically we’re just saying it’s evident now we cannot continue.
“As we’re going on, we need to stop new oil. It’s the first step to ensuring we have a liveable future, and maybe it’s already too late.
“This is something we definitely need to do.”
The group chose the M25 as the site of the action as it is “the place where we confront the carbon economy headlong and bring our resistance into full public view.
The M25 has a kind of iconic status as the motorway from hell, doesn’t it? So it’s a reference to that”.
Temperatures reached 40C in the UK for the first time ever on Tuesday (19 July), which led to major incidents announced by fire brigades in London, Leicestershire and South Yorkshire as fires broke out across the country in the heat.
The group is demanding that the Government make a “meaningful statement” that it will commit to stop licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK, which it says is “the necessary first step to ensuring a liveable future”.