Just Stop Oil activists brought London to a standstill yet again this morning with their second slow march this week in the capital – leading to 35 arrests.
It marks the second day of the activists’ 30-day campaign of disruption on an ‘unprecedented scale’ after more than 60 were arrested in Parliament Square on Monday.
And yesterday, JSO complained about strict bail conditions imposed on some of the eco activists, which banned them from entering London to join the action.
The Metropolitan Police said on X, formerly Twitter, at 9.12am today that officers were ‘responding to a number of Just Stop Oil activists’ on the A4 West Cromwell Road in Kensington. The force pledged to ‘respond quickly to minimise disruption for Londoners’.
Officers arrived within four minutes of receiving a report of the protest and asked the demonstrators to leave the road under threat of a ‘move to an arrest phase’.
Activists from Just Stop Oil being arrested as they form a rolling protest on the Cromwell Road in Kensington, west London, this morning
The Met Police said officers arrested more than 30 JSO activists on the A4 this morning after the eco zealots brought London to a standstill for the second time this week
Dozens of Just Stop Oil activists block traffic on the A4 Cromwell Road in central London
The force tweeted at 9.23am that officers were arresting activists for breaching Section Seven of the Public Order Act (2023), as others ‘left of their own accord’.
But activists were deliberately ‘going floppy’ as police tried to take them away.
At 9.35am, the Met provided an update saying: ‘All the activists are now out of the road and the A4 is moving freely.
‘We will confirm arrest numbers shortly, but it’s thought to be more than 30.’
The Met later confirmed 35 arrests had been made and that the West Cromwell Road was cleared within just 26 minutes.
Video of the start of the protest shows dozens of activists in their trademark orange hi-vis jackets emblazoned with the JSO logo step into the street with with large banners to block traffic.
Drivers immediately start blaring their horns, and one disgruntled van driver mounted the pavement to get past the blockade.
JSO is staging ongoing protest action in a bid to stop the government granting new fossil fuel licences.
JSO posted this morning on X: ‘DAY 2: 45 Just Stop Oil Supporters Marching for No New Oil.
‘Ordinary people are slow marching in Earls Court today to demand no new oil and gas.’
Activist Gabriella, who travelled from Wales to attend the slow march, said: ‘We need to stand up and make ourselves heard.
‘The government need to be brought to account, well at least the police do.’
JSO added that she was ‘marching against our criminal government’s genocidal licensing of new oil and gas’.
Student Amy, 21, said: ‘I’m here today marching with Just Stop Oil because I feel like I don’t have a future. I can’t see a future for people that are younger than me.
‘I can’t see a future for people in the global south that are being murdered right now because of our government’s negligence.
‘We need to act now, otherwise it’s completely over for us. There’s no more tomorrow, there’s now waiting for next year. We have to act now, this is it.’
Video of the beginning of the protest shows dozens of activists donning their trademark orange hi-vis jackets emblazoned with the JSO logo as they step into the street with with large banners to block traffic
Drivers blared their horns at the activists, and one disgruntled van driver mounted the pavement to get past the blockade
The Met tweeted at 9.23am that officers were arresting activists for breaching Section Seven of the Public Order Act (2023), as others ‘left of their own accord’
Police engaging with Just Stop Oil protesters who blocked a road in Kensington this morning
The Met Police has said that they believe more than 30 JSO activists have been arrested
The Met added: ‘This has impacted people heading to work or going about their day in west London. If you were one of those people we would like to hear from you.’
After Monday’s Parliament Square protest, the Metropolitan Police said 31 protesters were charged, with 17 bailed ahead of court appearances and 14 remanded in custody.
A bail conditions letter shared by JSO yesterday said the activists were barred from the capital to ‘prevent further offences’.
It read: ‘Not to enter London, inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway unless answering bail at a police station, attending a court hearing or to visit a solicitor by prior appointment.’
Responding to the bail conditions, the group said: ‘The Met Police like to say they want to ‘facilitate’ protests.
‘The conditions imposed on people arrested show otherwise. No protesting in the street in London… In fact don’t even enter London… we want the police to investigate the real criminals.’
Activists ‘went floppy’ on West Cromwell Road in Kensington when confronted by police
JSO is staging ongoing protest action to stop the government granting new fossil fuel licences
It comes after Scotland Yard told eco zealots it was ‘unacceptable’ that officer time and resources were being wasted at a time of surging hate crime and heightened fears of a terror attack prompted by the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Dozens of officers and police vehicles were taken away from other frontline duties during Monday’s protest, which saw activists in orange hi-vis jackets blocking roads and ‘slow marching’ until they were arrested.
Met Commander Kyle Gordon said: ‘This is an extremely busy time for officers across London who are providing reassurance to communities following the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
‘It’s unacceptable that we are having to remove officers, who are carrying out vital work in their communities at a time where there is a large number of hate crime being reported to us, to police Just Stop Oil.
‘We also know the majority of the public has reached their tolerance with Just Stop Oil, which on occasion is over- spilling into violence. It’s clear the public has had enough.’