Insulate Britain eco-warriors halt M25 traffic for the 6th time despite High Court injunction

Climate group Insulate Britain blocked part of the UK’s M25 for the sixth time on Monday, violating an injunction that was granted by the High Court last Tuesday, with police detaining activists near Heathrow Airport.

Fifty-two members of the protest group descended on a roundabout near Europe’s busiest airport, halting traffic despite the threat of being imprisoned, fined or having their assets seized for breaching the injunction granted to National Highways Ltd.

In a statement released on the group’s website, Insulate Britain defended its decision to breach the injunction, declaring “You can raid our savings and confiscate our property. You can deny us our liberty and put us behind bars. But that is only shooting the messenger.”

You can throw as many injunctions at us as you like, but we are going nowhere.

The campaign group had threatened to breach the legal order after it was granted, claiming they are “more scared of climate change than we are of breaking an injunction” and that they “have to step up and do what is right.”

London’s Metropolitan Police force confirmed on social media that they are “attending a protest at Junction 14 of the M25 near Heathrow Airport.” Arrests have been made and a lane of traffic has reopened, although traffic disruption is expected in the area.

Last week, following the initial legal order covering protests on the M25, Insulate Britain moved their demonstration to the A20, near the Port of Dover, forcing the government to secure an extra injunction to discourage further disruptive activity.

The UK government has been clear that it “won’t tolerate reckless behaviour on motorways or ports.” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps defended the crackdown on the group by arguing “Living in a democracy everyone is entitled to protest, but that doesn’t extend to closing roads and ruining livelihoods.”

Insulate Britain has staged multiple protests in recent weeks, as the group seeks to pressure the UK government into implementing a nationwide programme to “upgrade almost every house” to make them more energy efficient, insulating all social housing in Britain by 2025. The UK government has defended its existing policies by claiming that “We are investing £1.3bn this year alone to support people to install energy efficiency measures.”

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