Just Stop Oil supporters are on the roads marching in their eighth week of daily action in the capital to demand that the UK Government halt all licences and consents for new oil, gas and coal projects. [1]
At around 8am, 54 Just Stop Oil supporters, in four groups, began marching on roads in Ealing and Battersea, including Hanger Lane and Battersea Bridge. Nine supporters were arrested for failing to comply with a section 12 notice issued on a march at Hanger Lane. All the marches finished by 8:45am.
One of those arrested this morning, Allie Law, 23, a programmer from Bury St Edmunds, spoke to camera whilst detained:
“I’m Allie, I’m 23. I’ve just been arrested under section 12 of the Public Order Aact, for exercising my democratic right to march, protected by the United Nations. I’m being searched, as if I’m going to hurt anyone, when they know we’re completely nonviolent; unlike our government.”
“The government has been told by their own advisers that continuing to licence fossil fuels will kill millions, but they don’t seem to care! It could be to do with them getting paid a lot from fossil fuel companies…I couldn’t possibly comment on that. Join us at juststopoil.org.”
Another of those on the road this morning, Christopher Ford, 46, a nursery school teaching assistant from Cambridge, said:
“As a father of two sons and a nursery school teaching assistant I am terrified for the future of younger generations and I am horrified by the response of the government to the climate crisis. The United Nations and scientific institutions around the world are screaming that we need to stop the development of new fossil fuels to avoid the worst of the climate crisis. Yet our government is ignoring them and their own scientific advisors by releasing over 100 new fossil fuel licences!”
“They are putting their profits before my children’s safety and as a father I must do what I can to protect them. The corruption and profiteering within our government is at epidemic proportions, public disaffection is at its highest and the new laws they are bringing in are designed to squash all dissent, breaking international human rights laws as they do so. Protest is now effectively banned.”
Another of those taking action, Canon Dr Peter Lippiett, 76, a Retired GP and Anglican priest, from Twyford said:
“I’m marching for my grandchildren. It’s madness that our leaders are sleepwalking us into a climate catastrophe. The science has never been clearer, we know that burning fossil fuels is raising the planet’s temperature beyond ‘safe’ levels. People are dying already from the effects of global warming.”
“This is climate murder, and so long as we chase after burning yet more fossil fuels, we are complicit. I’ve done everything ‘acceptable’ that I can do personally to combat climate change, but our problems are systemic. What more can I do? I’m marching with Just Stop Oil to force the issue to the forefront of the news agenda.”
This morning’s marches follow the introduction of new police powers on Tuesday that reclassify ‘major disruption’ as anything more than ‘minor’. This effectively bans the right to march in the street, a cornerstone of liberal democracy that has been fundamental to every progressive development for centuries. [2]
Just Stop Oil supporters have completed up to seven marches a day, six days a week since the 24th April – a total of 134 marches. Around 600 ordinary people from all over the UK have taken part. To date there have been over 100 arrests and 40 people have been charged with failure to comply with Public Order Act (section 12) conditions.
Since the Just Stop Oil campaign launched on 14th February 2022, there have been 2,200 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison, many without trial. There are currently two Just Stop Oil supporters serving three year prison sentences for resisting new oil, gas and coal.
We stand with these political prisoners, with the 1,800 victims of the UK’s broken criminal justice system, imprisoned for over a year without trial, and with the 1,700 murdered across the global south, for protecting all our lives. Ordinary people must come together to resist this criminal government and hold them to account for their genocidal policies. [3][4]
Just Stop Oil is calling on everyone to get off the sidelines and join in civil resistance against new oil, gas and coal.
The time is now. Join us and slow march while you still can. Our indefinite campaign of civil resistance is underway and will not end until our government makes a meaningful statement halting new fossil fuel projects in the UK.
Join Just Stop Oil on a slow march at midday every Saturday, at Parliament Square until we win.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups working together to demand that the government immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK. Just Stop Oil is a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects. Climate Emergency Fund is Just Stop Oil’s primary funder for recruitment, training, and capacity building.
Just Stop Oil ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been, to move out of the way for emergency vehicles with siren sounding and ‘blue lights’ on.
[3] Fair Trials reports that the number of people being held in prison without trial in England and Wales is at its highest for over 50 years, with 1,800 people in prison without trial for at least a year. https://www.fairtrials.org/articles/news/highest-number-of-people-on-remand-in-england-and-wales-for-over-50-years/
[4] A recent report from Global Witness says that more than 1,700 people have died while trying to prevent mining, oil drilling or logging on their lands. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/deadly-decade-land-and-environmental-activists-killing-every-two-days/
