Transport Secretary savages 'pathetic and dangerous' road blocking eco mob
15 October 2021, 10:05 | Updated: 15 October 2021, 10:08
Shapps: Insulate Britain "pathetic, dangerous and counterproductive"
The Transport Secretary branded protest group Insulate Britain as "pathetic", insisting their actions, which caused disruption to major roads during the last five weeks, are "absolutely unacceptable".
Grant Shapps told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: "What they're doing is pathetic, dangerous, irresponsible, counter-productive, and the fact that they then apologise to drivers for the delay, the stress they're causing, is absolutely unacceptable.
"I've seen a van driver who lost his job because he was an hour late, on TV. I saw an HGV driver who was trying to deliver fuel, during the fuel crisis the other week. A woman who was trying to visit her mum in hospital. Parents trying to get their kids to school."
The comments come after the climate change activists said they want to give the Government a bit of breathing space - as they pause their campaign.
Insulate Britain say they will temporarily halt demonstrations until later this month.
The group has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging him to "do the right thing, so we can be secure in the knowledge that our Government did everything it could to protect and defend our country".
The campaigners carried out their thirteenth round of protests in just over a month in Essex yesterday.
Asked if people will go to jail, he said: "The whole point about getting an injunction is that it means they're in defiance of the courts, contempt of the court, and the courts, I suspect, will not take that kindly at all, so of course people should go to jail if they continue to do this.
"Over a hundred doors have been knocked on. Injunctions have been physically served.
"More than a dozen people now have been taken back to court for contempt of court and, of course, I don't need to tell the courts what to do, but I would certainly not be crying into my Weetabix if I saw pretty strong action taken because there is no reason why law-abiding citizens should be inconvenienced like this."
