Moment eco activists are sprayed with ink as they block roads again
27 October 2021, 08:10 | Updated: 27 October 2021, 14:08
Insulate Britain campaigners squirted with ink on A40
Eco protesters have returned to disrupt motorists as they blocked roads around London - defying a court ban that could lead to jail time and fines.
Insulate Britain blocked part of the A40 in West London and a roundabout in Dartford on Wednesday morning.
Some activists at the former were apparently sprayed with ink, with the group releasing images of a number of demonstrators' faces covered in a dark substance.
A driver was seen remonstrating with police who were responding to the demonstration at the Dartford roundabout.
Not all activists were successful in blocking roads, however, with some who assembled at a car park near the A282, at the south end of the Dartford Crossing, being stopped by rapidly-responding police.
One motorist told LBC he stole a banner and while their cause was noble, he felt the group was just trying to make headlines in the press.
Insulate Britain campaigners squirted with ink on A40
A total of 17 people were arrested at the Acton demonstration, including six who police worked to unglue from the ground, while two were arrested at a car park near the Dartford Crossing.
The Met Police confirmed just before midday that the road was open and traffic was flowing.
Kent Police said 32 people were arrested across two locations, with some glueing themselves to each other.
Two men were arrested near to the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel.
LBC's Rachael Venables said activists in Dartford had also been served committal papers, with nine due to appear in court on November 16.
Activists have spent weeks getting in the way of drivers on busy routes as part of their campaign, despite being hit with injunctions which ban them from major roads.
Read more: Eco protesters blockade M25 yet again, defying threats of jail time
Read more: Dozens of arrests as eco mob returns to block busy London road
However, the group, which demands all of UK's homes be insulated by 2030 for economic and environmental reasons, has insisted it will defy court orders and keep the pressure on the Government.
The activists' tactics, which have enraged workers and commuters, have been condemned as politicians claim they could put people off the green message.
On Tuesday, Insulate Britain asked for people to not use the M25 or to instead drive slowly, vowing to turn the busy motorway that encircles London into a "place of nonviolent civil resistance".
Insulate Britain foiled moments before they blocked a Dartford road
They also requested that police refuse to arrest them.
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has announced that an interim injunction was taken out which bans the group from the major road network.
He said the Government was "making use of every avenue of existing law to try to prevent the continued life-endangering action being carried out by Insulate Britain".
He claimed the activists had caused "intolerable disruption to motorists' lives and livelihoods".
But Insulate Britain said it was "not concerned with endless injunctions".
"You can't imprison a flood, there are no unlimited fines against a famine, you can't bankrupt a fire," it added.
"You can imprison the ordinary people of Britain, yet the lives of our children and those of all future generations hang in the balance.
"By refusing to insulate Britain's homes, our government is also condemning thousands to death through fuel poverty this winter, while countless families will once again be cold and hungry."
Updates to follow
