Just Stop Oil Hold Protest By Shepherd's Bush Green |
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Two arrests as 13 demonstrators walk slowly towards Goldhawk Road
There was protest this Monday morning (28 November) in Shepherd’s Bush by environmental activists from the Just Stop Oil group. At around 8pm, 13 protestors unveiled banners in front of the West 12 Shopping Centre and proceeded to delay traffic by walking slowly across Shepherd’s Bush Green towards Goldhawk Road. The group says that two of its members were arrested for obstruction of the highway. Later in the day, a larger protest was held in central London with a similar tactic of a slow moving demonstration along the Strand being used as opposed to a fixed roadblock. This is the first action taken by the group, which is protesting against the continued extraction of fossil fuels, for 18 days.
A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said, “Wanting to prevent the end of human civilization is not a ‘cause’ and Just Stop Oil is not a protest movement. Our supporters are ordinary people who are using all possible peaceful means to ensure a future for humanity. They are engaging in nonviolent direct action to stop new oil and gas because history has shown that it is the only way to achieve the scale of change that we need. “We will not be intimidated by changes to the law or government posturing on tougher policing tactics. Just Stop Oil supporters understand that this is irrelevant when set against mass starvation, slaughter and the loss of our rights, freedoms and communities. The government can end this disruption tomorrow if they agree to halt new oil and gas licences and consents.” The day before the demonstrations took place Commander Karen Findlay, of Met Police Operations, said, “Just Stop Oil has already caused significant disruption to London’s general public and people travelling on the M25. “We understand they are now set to cause further disruption in London in the run-up to Christmas, from November 28 to December 14. However, we are again fully prepared. We have a very experienced team with robust policing measures in place to respond quickly and effectively to any incidents of serious disruption to London. We also have specialist officers available to deal with a range of tactics including sophisticated lock-on devices. “We will always try to work with organisers so that protests can go ahead safely. However, Just Stop Oil do not engage with police in advance to share where they may protest or how many may be involved. “As their actions are spontaneous and could take place anywhere across the capital, we are having to use more officers to respond, regardless of whether any action takes place or not.” She added that nearly 12,000 officer shifts had been required to deal with the group’s activities since the beginning of October saying, “These are officers who could be dealing with issues that matter to local communities such as knife crime, safeguarding and responding to burglaries.”
November 28, 2022
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