Policing eco protests on London's roads taking ‘hundreds’ of officers away from front line duties, says Met chief
12 October 2022, 10:59 | Updated: 12 October 2022, 11:20
The Commissioner of the Met has said policing disruptive protests on the streets of the capital “is not good for London" and that hundreds of officers are being diverted away from front line duties.
Speaking at the London Assembly today, Sir Mark Rowley said: “In 11 days we have put 2,156 officer days into doing this - that’s an enormous amount of policing resources that aren’t tackling issues that matter to local communities.
“The fact that I’ve been putting 200 officers a day into policing this. I don’t welcome that. That’s not good for London’s communities. I would love to be able to close these down more quickly and spend less policing resources on it at the moment.
“The law is clear - blocking a road isn’t automatically serious disruption. Obstruction of the highway isn’t prosecutable if it’s a lawful protest”.
The group were back again today, blockading the road outside Downing Street in their 12th day of protest action.
Nine activists blockaded Horseguards Road and glued themselves to the tarmac, one hour before PMQs. A specialist police team was scrambled to the scene to unglue the group.
Yesterday, the protesters blocked an ambulance, fire engine and cars carrying babies to hospital as they halted traffic in west London.
Met Chief says hundreds of officers a day taken off frontline policing to deal with protests
Dozens of activists in high viz walked on to roads in Knightsbridge, near Harrods, on their 11th day of protests in the capital.
They unveiled large orange banners at around 10am before sitting in front of cars, vans and buses - some even glued themselves to the tarmac.
Furious motorists were forced to take matters into their own hands and drag some of the protesters away so cars could pass.
So far they have blocked bridges and roads in Westminster, glued themselves onto the roof of a police car, and closed down The Mall.
Eco-mob block ambulance in Knightsbridge
Yesterday they stopped at least two emergency vehicles that were forced to find alternative routes.
Video footage taken by LBC showed a fire engine stuck in the middle of the junction with protesters blocking it on either side.
Afterwards an ambulance got caught in the chaos, and was forced to reverse.
At one point a van driver was so frustrated with the situation he nudged his way through a line of protesters.
Van drives at eco-protesters blocking road in Knightsbridge
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, urged police to “use the full powers” in new protest laws against the “indefensible” actions of the Stop the Oil campaigners who were “putting lives in danger”.
Just Stop Oil is demanding the Government halts all future licensing and production of fossil fuels in the UK.
The group has been holding daily protests throughout October.
Van drives at eco-protesters blocking road in Knightsbridge
The Met has faced criticism for its handling of this type of protest with officers accused of having too cautious an approach. At the protest on The Mall officers were heard asking protesters about their wellbeing and offering them coffee.
Karen Findlay, the Met's Commander of Public Order, insisted officers had to operate within the law even when dealing with people engaging in illegal activity.
Posting on Twitter, she wrote: “We are aware of this protest and the disruption it is now causing, as with other Just Stop Oil protests in the Knightsbridge area.
"We have officers already on scene who will move quickly to engage and resolve, as we have had for the last seven days in response to declared daily Just Stop Oil activity.
"Whilst having to ensure we are adhering to the legal requirements we have to operate to otherwise cases would be unable to proceed through the criminal justice process successfully.
"That in no way is not appreciating the disruptive effect on everyday Londoners and services."
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act passed earlier this year gives police greater powers to arrest protesters who “wilfully obstruct” highways, with a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail.
