Chaos erupted on the M25 during Tuesday morning’s rush hour when a man climbed onto the overhead gantry at junction 14 near Heathrow Airport. The incident caused the motorway to come to a standstill, resulting in significant delays for motorists in the area.
Police responded quickly to the situation, arriving on the scene just 10 minutes after the man climbed the gantry at 8am. By 8.30am, officers had safely removed and arrested the individual, who was then taken into custody at a South London police station. The M25 was reopened shortly after, with traffic returning to normal by 8.46am.
This arrest was part of a larger joint police operation involving the Metropolitan Police, Essex Police, Surrey Police, and Kent Police. In total, 16 activists associated with the Just Stop Oil group were detained on Tuesday during coordinated raids targeting the protest actions of the group.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist commented on the operation, stating: “The Met, in a joint operation with neighbouring forces, has again responded swiftly and robustly to today’s attempts by Just Stop Oil activists to disrupt the M25.”
He added, “We’re fully committed to delivering a quick and effective response to those who disrupt people’s daily lives. Since early October, we’ve deployed over 11,000 officer shifts policing Just Stop Oil protests. That’s officers not available to tackle knife crime, burglaries, and safeguard communities.”
Assistant Commissioner Twist continued, “We’re determined to bring to justice those causing unreasonable disruption to London and the motorway network. We’ll work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and courts to make sure they face the consequences.”
So far, 22 people have been charged as part of the ongoing crackdown on the Just Stop Oil protest group.
Originally published by UKNIP.
