Insulate Britain suspends civil resistance campaign until October 25

Eco-warriors Insulate Britain have announced they will suspend their road blockade campaign for eleven days after angry motorists fought back at their latest protest.

The group faced fierce resistance from motorists on Wednesday. Some drove their heavy trucks slowly into the activists, others dragged them off the road.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the group said it was suspending its campaign, which caused travel disruptions for thousands of motorists last month ahead of the COP26 environmental conference.

The group wrote: “Climate collapse is happening all around us. We are facing economic chaos and the collapse of law and order within a matter of years.”

“We will lose our incomes, pensions and savings and leave a terrible legacy to our children. They will rightly be angry. Around the world, thousands of millions of people will lose their lives in massacres and starvation, while crops fail and society collapses.”

“Ahead of COP26, Insulate Britain will suspend its civil resistance campaign until Monday 25 October.

“In light of your speech (to the United Nations on 22 September) in which you recognised: ‘We are approaching that critical turning point – in less than two months – when we must demonstrate that we are learning, that we are mature and that we must finally take responsibility for the destruction we are inflicting not only on our planet but also on ourselves.’

“We ask you to use this time to signal that you believe in what you say.”

Insulate Britain – an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion – wants the government to insulate all British homes by 2030 to cut carbon emissions.

For the past five weeks, streets have been blocked 14 days a year, with activists often taping their hands to the road to slow down police efforts to remove the blockades.

Insulate Britain had previously admitted that its actions on the M25 were a “breach” of an injunction obtained by the government last month.

Anyone who violates the injunctions can be charged with contempt of court. However, the protests continued as prosecutions usually take several months.

Read more

Supplier failures could increase household bills by £45

Police Scotland: We will take swift action against protesters blocking roads at Cop26

Britain no longer has the God-given right to rule the seas, ministers said