Scotland Yard says its officers are ‘fully prepared’ to tackle Just Stop Oil activists

The Met Police have begun dealing with eco-zealots Just Stop Oil disrupting Shepherd’s Bush by slowly marching with their banner.

The protesters have been holding up drivers on various roads for months, including the M25 over recent weeks, and will now target London‘s major roundabouts.

The anti-fossil fuel campaigners planned to march, ‘as slowly as possible, from key roundabouts, in multiple teams and timed phases’.

Video from Sky News showed them doing just that as motorists were held up. 

Just Stop Oil protesters have been holding up drivers on various roads for months, and now plan to target London’s major roundabouts

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An activist puts up a banner reading ‘Just Stop Oil’ on an electronic traffic sign along M25

Unlike previous protests, which have seen the environmental campaigners sitting in front of cars on busy roads to stop traffic, the planned action will allow traffic to move very slowly behind each march.

The group believes that this new method of demonstrating will be ‘non-injunction breaking and will aim to be non-arrestable’. 

The change of tack, it hopes, means police will be faced with ‘a dilemma’ over whether to allow a ‘legal protest march’ or threaten to arrest protesters, who would still be allowing drivers to progress in their journeys.

Met Police boss, Commander Karen Findlay, said the force is ‘fully prepared’ to deal with the anticipated disruption.

As well as blocking roads, the eco warriors made headlines targeting artwork, including throwing Heinz tomato soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

It comes as sources told the Mail on Sunday that Rishi Sunak has increasingly expressed his frustration in government meetings about the ‘disruption to law-abiding citizens’ everyday lives’.

Mr Sunak has reportedly told Home Secretary Suella Braverman to convene a meeting with police chiefs at Downing Street to ‘set out the Government’s expectations that the police must fully enforce the law’.

A total of 62 people have been charged over M25 protests since March, of which 29 were remanded in custody. 

More than 11,000 Metropolitan Police officer shifts have been dedicated to anti-JSO operations. 

Last month saw a sustained campaign by JSO, involving daily action, in what it described as the ‘biggest ever civil disobedience campaign’.

As well as blocking roads, the eco warriors made headlines targeting artwork, including throwing Heinz tomato soup over Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.