With immediate effect protesters will be in contempt of court
if they breach the terms of an interim injunction won by
National Highways today.
Breach of the injunction can be punishable by up to two years
in prison and an unlimited fine, serving as a deterrent for
anyone thinking of re-joining the disruptive action.
National Highways previously secured an injunction against the
protesters for the guerrilla tactics used by activists on the
M25, and National Highways intend to return to court to extend
the injunction and potentially seek additional powers of
arrest.
The Government’s intervention will help dissuade activists from
carrying out any further disruption.
Transport Secretary
said:
“We are absolutely committed to protecting the right to
peaceful protest, but it is unacceptable that people cannot
go about their day-to-day businesses and that businesses, or
critical supplies should be put on a knife’s edge because of
the reckless actions of a few protesters.
“I commend the work of Kent Police and the Port of Dover
authorities today to quickly resolve the issue and keep our
critical supplies moving, and I will do everything to prevent
these sort of guerrilla tactics from putting people’s lives
at risk and keeping our emergency services away from the
communities that need them.”
Home Secretary,
said:
“The British public are rightly furious that the behaviours
of a selfish minority have been putting lives at risk and
causing untold disruption on our roads and now at Dover. We
will not tolerate the recklessness of these few activists and
the police continue to have our full support in cracking down
on their dangerous behaviour.
“The public and the police want officers back serving their
communities and cutting crime, not dealing with people happy
to put the safety and needs of others at risk.”
The Government is already ending the sale of new petrol and
diesel cars in the UK by 2030, investing billions of pounds to
help industry and drivers make the switch to cleaner vehicles,
and will continue its work to install thousands of chargepoints
and boost the development of new technologies to meet ambitious
net zero goals.
Campaign group Insulate Britain’s recent
demonstrations have led to considerable disruption on one of
the UK’s busiest motorways – creating a backlog of traffic and
more pollution – as well as blocking the emergency services
from reaching those whose lives are in danger.
Over 200 people involved with the demonstrations have already
been arrested and previous actions of Extinction Rebellion – of
which Insulate Britain is an offshoot – has cost the UK
taxpayer £50million.
