This is the moment a van driver begs eco-zealots from Just Stop Oil to just let him past after they began to slow march outside Parliament this morning.
The video, which was filmed outside the Palace of Westminster shows a horde of activists opening up placards in the street and beginning to trudge down the road.
After begging with the protesters to leave the road and let him by, the van driver is seen being approached and spoken to by a member of the group, who condescendingly tells him they have ‘no choice’ but to act.
As the group walk down the road, a chorus of car horns can be heard being tooted as the traffic along the busy Central London road ground to a halt. Police have since confirmed they have made 15 arrests.
It’s the first incident of the campaign group’s planned three weeks of action across London which they claim will cause disruption on an ‘unprecedented scale.’
This is the moment a van driver begs eco-zealots from Just Stop Oil to just let him past
After begging with the protesters to leave the road and let him by, the van driver is seen being approached and spoken to by a member of the group
Police have since confirmed they have made 15 arrests following the mornings demonstration
The Met has vowed to ‘use all available powers’ as part of its policing response to Just Stop Oil protestors ‘to allow Londoners to continue their daily business’ during the group’s protests.
It has also written to members of the group ahead of its new campaign of protests later this month, asking to work together to ‘ensure any protest activity is lawful’.
As of last week, the Met said it had not yet received a response.
The latest action is the first major Just Stop Oil development since the group’s summer of disruption that saw them target major sporting and cultural events such as the Ashes and Chelsea Flower Show.
On both occasions, the actions of the eco-zealots were thwarted by members of the public and in the case of the Ashes: Jonny Bairstow himself, who was filmed lifting a protester off the Lords pitch.
Speaking on today’s action, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Officers arrived within four minutes of receiving the initial report.
‘We have put in a Section Seven. Officers are continuing to make arrests under Section Seven of the Public Order Act. There have been 15 arrests made.
‘The road is cleared and traffic is beginning to move freely.’
Just Stop Oil has said that all 65 members of their demonstartion have been arrested as a result of today’s action.
Just Stop Oil have began to slow march in Westminster this morning
The group has vowed to march for three weeks and cause ‘unprecedented disruption’ to London
Just Stop Oil activists demonstrate in Parliament Square, Westminster, central London
Police say the protest was being sorted out by officers within four minutes
Just Stop Oil have claimed that all 65 activists at the demonstration have been arrested
The group has said it will march for three weeks from today to demand an end to fossil fuels
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: ‘Just Stop Oil supporters are willing to slow march to the point of arrest today, and every day until the police take action to prosecute the real criminals – the people who are facilitating new oil and gas when they know that to do so will kill hundreds of millions of people.
‘Just in the last week, seven people have died in the UK as a result of extreme weather and scientists are telling us it will only get worse. Neither major political party is serving the interests of the country- they are serving the mass murderers profiting while the world burns.
‘There is no real opposition.
‘In times of crisis, it is down to ordinary people to take a stand against the rich and powerful by disrupting business-as-usual. We know it works. A mass road blocking campaign has just forced the Dutch government to halt oil and gas subsidies.
‘That’s why people are coming together from all over the UK to march day after day in London from today. Its People vs Oil! Sign up at JustStopOil.org’
Last week, activists from the group sprayed a dinosaur exhibit with orange paint inside London’s Natural History Museum as they continued their relentless campaign of demonstrations across the capital.
Two protestors from the group used a children’s powder paint fountain to cover a reproduction Titanosaur skeleton in orange cornstarch just before 2pm last Thursday, the environmentalist group said.
Consultant gastroenterologist Will Stableforth and physiotherapist Steve Fay were videoed carrying out the stunt inside the museum’s 30ft-high Waterhouse Gallery, surrounded by shocked members of the public who watched on in disbelief.
They then sat down on the floor beneath the gigantic display and held out a sign reading: ‘For health’s sake just stop oil’. One of the men was also wearing a shirt with the word ‘Doctor’ on the front.
This the moment Just Stop Oil eco-zealots sprayed a dinosaur exhibit with orange powder inside London’s Natural History Museum
Two protestors from the group gained entry to the new exhibit inside the world-renowned museum and began spraying the powder on the replica skeleton
They then sat down beneath the gigantic structure and held out a sign reading: ‘For health’s sake just stop oil’. One of the men was also wearing a shirt with the word ‘Doctor’ on the front
The Metropolitan Police said it had arrested the two men on suspicion of criminal damage, while the museum said the gallery housing the display has been ‘temporarily closed to visitors’.
Stableforth, from Truro in Cornwall, said beforehand: ‘As an NHS medical consultant I’ve spent many years looking after patients with diseases which, at their root, are caused by fossil fuels.
‘I have done everything legal I can to get our message across. Most of that has been ineffective, so it’s time to break the law. I cannot see another way at this time.
‘The climate crisis is a healthcare emergency for every single one of us. We demand an end to any new fossil fuels and immediate climate action prioritising public health rather than big business.’
Fay, from the Hebrides, added: ‘Like this long extinct dinosaur, we are in grave danger of following in its footsteps.
‘We know we are in a climate emergency with breakdowns in weather patterns and deaths of millions on the near horizon, yet our government pursues ever greater exploitation of oil and gas reserves.’
‘If we don’t act now, the repercussions will grow ever larger. As a health professional I know this will cause great suffering and death for many millions of people. I have made the decision to take non-violent direct action because I have a moral obligation as a healthcare professional to do all that I can to prevent harm.’
Just Stop Oil claimed that fifteen officers attended the scene at the museum and arrested both men.
Just Stop Oil protesters sprayed orange paint all over London ‘s Wellington Arch last Wednesday
After dousing the historic arch in paint, the trio set off orange flares and help up their well-known sign
The group said in a statement: ‘Today’s action comes in the wake of the High Court rejecting a legal challenge on Friday, brought by Uplift and Greenpeace, to the Government’s decision to endorse new offshore oil and gas.’
It added that ‘health workers have a long and celebrated tradition of engaging in nonviolent disruptive protest’ and that today’s actions ‘continues this spirit’.
The group continued: ‘In November, we are calling for daily marches in London until the government comes to its senses and ends new oil and gas. Just Stop Oil is calling on everyone to join in civil resistance.’
The incident in the Natural History Museum came just a day after a group of Just Stop Oil protestors sprayed the Wellington Arch in orange paint before being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.