'Officer, please help me get to work!': Policeman ignores begging motorist as eco-zealots Just Stop Oil block road
26 April 2023, 13:29 | Updated: 26 April 2023, 13:45
A frustrated motorist blocked by eco-zealots protesting in London begged officers to help him get to work - but he was completely ignored.
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Protesters donned their orange high-vis jackets as they filled roads in the capital as part of their latest round of demonstrations.
Just Stop Oil activists participated in a 'slow march' for the third day in a row on Wednesday as part of a campaign of 'civil resistance'.
In one clip shared by the group online, a motorist could be heard yelling: "I've got to go to work!"
He then pleaded with a policeman in the area, saying: "Officer, please help me get to work."
But the driver gets no response, with the officer continuing to walk past and ignore the commotion.
Motorist begs police officer for help as Just Stop Oil block road in Trafalgar Square
In its latest update on the protests, the Metropolitan Police said: "By 10.30hrs, police had issued Just Stop Oil protesters in #Whitehall, #TrafalgarSquare, and #VictoriaStreet conditions under Section 12 of the Public Order Act to move out of the carriageway as their slow marches in the road disrupting traffic constituted serious disruption."
Just Stop Oil said Wednesday's protests were held "in solidarity with nine Ugandan students who are facing their first day of a trial today in Kampala, Uganda".
They said they face "trumped-up charges of Common Nuisance, for peacefully resisting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)".
A spokesperson for the campaign group said: "EACOP- a joint project by Total Energies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, will enrich a handful of oil criminals, while generating more emissions than Uganda and Tanzania combined.
"Locally, 10,000 people have already been displaced without compensation to make way for the pipeline – which will also ravage local wildlife and water supplies."
Suella Braverman on 'militant protesters' and 'eco-zealots'
They added: "In the face of this criminal act, Just Stop Oil stands in solidarity with the 9 students on trial today. Thanks to the bravery and persistence they and their supporters have shown, 24 banks and 22 insurers have already pulled out of the project.
"'We have issued a crowdfunder and are holding a solidarity meeting, to further support our friends in Uganda, in their resistance to a criminal, oil-funded regime."
The group is demanding the government stop all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK.
