M25 closures: Just Stop Oil ends motorway protests after four days of disruption

Climate campaigners did not say if they plan to resume protests, which shut sections of the motorway all week

Climate activists Just Stop Oil are pausing their motorway protests after four days of disruption on M25.

They said that they were “giving time to those in goverment who are in touch with reality to consider their responsibilities to this country at this time”.

Just Stop Oil have been disrupting the M25 for four days in a bid to focus attention on the climate crisis.

A Just Stop Oil activist on a overhead gantry on the M25 earlier this week (PA Media)

In a statement on the pause in their activities, the group asked the prime minister Rishi Sunak to “consider his statement at Cop27, where he spoke of the catastrophic threat posed by the ravages of global heating.”

Emma Brown, from Just Stop Oil, did not say whether the protest group would resume action on the M25, after announcing they were halting their disruption of the motorway on Friday.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are giving the Government another chance to sit down and discuss with us and meet our demand, which is the obvious no-brainer that we all want to see, which is no new oil in the UK.”

She would not say whether campaigners could return to the M25 if their demands are not met, but said: “How can we stop? This is a risk to our lives and to the lives of you and all of your listeners, so we can’t stop.”

The climate campaign group held its fourth day of disruption on the motorway on Thursday, again climbing gantries along the M25.

Police at the scene of one of the motorway protests this week (Getty Images)

The police have faced criticism for its handling of the demonstrations, particularly around the arrests of journalists who were covering the events.

A police commissioner was forced to admit officers “got it wrong” by arresting members of the press after widespread criticism from the industry and MPs.

A photographer, film-maker and LBC reporter were all taken into custody by Hertfordshire Police this week.

David Lloyd, the police and crime commissioner for the force, told LBC: “I am certain that there was no reason to arrest them such as you have given. As I said at the outset I think we got it wrong.”