Insulate Britain protesters today targeted a major London roundabout and the M25 despite three court injunctions designed to stop them.
Around 40 demonstrators from the hated group were seen sitting on the road at junction 25 of the M25 at Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, and on the A501 at Old Street roundabout.
The group descended on both locations at around 9am, with the Met tweeting three hours later to say the roads had been cleared after 16 arrests on the M25 and 19 by the roundabout.
Two of the motorway bandits were lambasted by a furious mother whose daughter was late for classes due to their actions, who told them: ‘It’s backing up, all because all you care about is insulating houses.
‘My daughter is late to school, you are messing with children’s education because you are selfish. I hope you got that on camera, I think they are a disgrace.’
At the same time scores of the protesters – who have been widely savaged for their actions – sat down in the Old Street by the hipster enclave of Shoreditch.
They were flanked by as many ‘official observers’ dressed in high-vis vests after a series of confrontations from furious motorists in recent days.
After heavy criticism, the unpopular campaigners were also seen moving for ambulances getting out.
Among the rabble was Joshua Smith, a multi-millionaire eco hypocrite who was seen being taken away by police in what is believed to be his seventh arrest after police repeatedly released him without conditions.
The activists are continuing to make a mockery of the law by violating injunctions passed by the High Court – which could see them jailed for contempt of court.
The original injunction, granted to National Highways on September 21, banned the demonstrations on the M25 and was followed by a second approved on September 24 which restricted protests around the Port of Dover.
A third injunction was granted against 100 activists on Saturday, banning them from obstructing traffic and access to motorways and major A roads in and around London – but this has failed to stop fresh chaos this morning.
Millionaire eco hypocrite Joshua Smith was seen being arrested today. This is believed to be his seventh arrest after police repeatedly released him without conditions
Smith bragged about being arrested four times for ‘mourning for life on Earth’ on September 22. He seen right at an earlier protest on September 20
Three police officers carry away an activist from hated campaign group Insulate Britain from the Old Street roundabout today
Several protesters glued themselves onto the road – a familiar tactic – forcing officers to use a chemical solution to release them
Today’s disruption at the Old Street roundabout is the latest of a series of protests that has seen the group draw the ire of the public
Mr Smith was branded a hypocrite after it emerged he owned a multi-million pound property empire – but the homes had poor insulation, an issue at the heart of the group’s agenda.
The 28-year-old is heir to a £2million property portfolio and also has a seven-figure estate of his own. However, at least six homes owned by his Oldham-based company have efficiency ratings of E or F, according to the Sun.
This means the properties boast little or no insulation and also produce large quantities of extra carbon dioxide. Smith was pictured being held by police by the side of the M25 today before being led off in a police van.
Today, Insulate Britain was utterly unrepentant about the damage they were doing.
Spokesman Liam Norton said: ‘This isn’t a cause, this is about the deaths of our children before they get to grow old. This isn’t protesting, this is about doing whatever it takes to protect the future generations. And we want to be clear, this campaign will continue until the government gives us a meaningful statement we can trust, if that happens we will get off the roads like a shot
The Met Police said: ‘We are responding to two protests this morning which are blocking roads. Activists are disrupting traffic around Old Street roundabout.
‘They’re also disrupting motorists at Junction 25 of the M25. We’re on scene and working quickly to get traffic moving.
‘We know that some activists have used super glue to frustrate our efforts and to delay Londoner’s even further.
‘We train for these scenarios and have specialist teams on hand to help remove people and make arrests. We will share more information shortly.
The group, which is calling on the Government to insulate all homes across the UK by 2030 to help cut carbon emissions, has mostly focused on blockading the M25 but has sat down on other London roads since last Friday.
Until now, they had not yet carried out any road protests for a few days day, but their campaign of roadblocks caused fresh misery yesterday, as activists targeted three major sites of the Blackwall Tunnel, Wandsworth Bridge and Hanger Lane.
At the Conservative Party conference the Prime Minister said the Insulate Britain protesters had been ‘doing considerable damage to the economy’.
His comments came ahead of Home Secretary Priti Patel’s speech, where she laid out new measures to deal with demonstrators deemed to be disruptive.
Boris Johnson told LBC: ‘There are some people who call those individuals legitimate protesters.
‘They are not. I think they are irresponsible crusties who are basically trying to stop people going about their day’s work and doing considerable damage to the economy.
‘That is why we have taken the powers and why Priti Patel is doing the right thing to bring in powers so they can get six months or an unlimited fine.’
The Home Secretary announced plans for eco-fanatics to be hit with a new type of Asbo in a fresh attempt to bring their chaotic road protests to an end.
The Criminal Disruption Prevention Orders – dubbed ‘Asbos for crusties’ – are intended to be quicker to enforce than the Government’s current approach, which has been based on High Court injunctions.
The protesters could be seen cross legged on the ground holding up the now-infamous Insulate Britain logo banners
Police appeared to swiftly leap into action at the M25, racing into the road to drag out the protesters by their high-vis vests
Today they were flanked by as many ‘official observers’ dressed in high-vis vests after confrontations at other locations
It will be made a crime to ‘interfere with critical national infrastructure’, including major roads, railways, seaports, power stations and newspaper printing presses.
The new crime will carry up to six months’ imprisonment and will be dealt with at magistrates’ courts only – after sympathetic juries acquitted a series of XR activists in the Crown courts.
It will give police new options when arresting offenders who block motorways or other sites, and make it more likely that protesters will face jail.
A Conservative source said police would ‘now have no excuse’ for not arresting and charging Insulate Britain troublemakers.
The campaigners were seen in the way of an ambulance but now move out of the way as part of a new policy from him
Insulate Britain protesters take over Old Street roundabout
An Insulate Britain ringleader who stormed off national TV after he was criticised by Susannah Reid for failing to practice what he preaches lives in a flat with astonishingly poor eco-credentials, MailOnline can reveal.
Liam Norton, 36, who orchestrated the recent protests that have brought the country’s motorways to a standstill, ripped off his microphone and fled the Good Morning Britain studio when the presenter challenged him about reported poor energy efficiency at his own property.
Norton, an electrician who likens himself to Winston Churchill, claimed he could not afford to insulate the property and stormed out of the GMB studio when further challenged.
Today we can reveal the full details of how the environmentalist is generating more carbon emissions than most of his neighbours: his home has ‘no roof insulation’; ‘no cavity wall insulation’; ‘poor heating control’ and ‘very poor lighting’.
The two-bedroom, first-floor flat in Streatham, south London, has an energy rating of E – the lowest category permitted for rental properties.
The home, which measures just 46 square metres, pumps out four tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, its Energy Performance Certificate [EPC] reveals.
The EPC states that while the windows of the property are double glazed, the roof is not insulated, there is no cavity wall insulation and the flat has poor heating controls.
The report adds that the gas-heated flat, which is worth £360,000 and owned by Norton’s partner Sally Davidson, could easily become more energy efficient.
It recommends that by installing low energy lighting and a condensing boiler the flat’s energy costs would be slashed by ten per cent and gain a category D rating.
Ms Davidson, an Extinction Rebellion protester who was convicted earlier this year of obstruction, declined to discuss the poor energy efficiency of the flat she shares with Insulate Britain leader Norton with MailOnline.
She told a reporter: ‘I don’t appreciate you coming to my flat. Now please leave my property.’
However, last month Norton told TV presenter Susannah Reid the lack of insulation at his own home was not relevant when she challenged him during a live interview on Good Morning Britain.
He said: ‘Whether or not my home is insulated doesn’t change the fact that millions of homes are not insulated.’
Asked why he had not insulated his home, he replied: ‘You know insulation costs thousands, tens of thousands [of pounds].’
Norton, who has not taken part in any of the sit-down protests, later clashed with Reid’s co-presenter Richard Madeley when he compared the actions of Insulate Britain to Churchill’s stance against Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, before storming out of the studio.
The report adds that the flat, which is worth £360,000 and owned by Norton’s partner Sally Davidson (pictured far right, with Norton far left), could easily become more energy efficient
The modest flat, which has two bedrooms and a garage, has been used as a headquarters to plot some of the eco group’s hugely disruptive demonstrations that have paralysed roads around London.
A whistle-blower said: ‘Liam [Norton] is happy for volunteers, including some really old people, to go to jail or be fined. But he doesn’t put himself at risk.
‘He invites you to the flat in south London where he organizes and explains what you are going to do but won’t do himself.
‘He lives there with his partner and just stays out of harm’s way.
‘The whole thing was never about insulating homes, it’s all about him. Liam is the ring leader. He is the problem.’
A neighbour added: ‘Liam lives there with his partner Sally. They have a small car, a Volkswagen Polo. It’s pretty old and certainly not electric. They don’t drive it very often.’
He ripped off his microphone and fled the GMB studio when the presenter further challenged him about reported poor energy efficiency at his own property
A 2004 blue VW Polo with a 1.2 litre petrol engine is parked in the road outside the Streatham flat.
It was revealed last month how Norton’s biggest supporter is his mother, 62-year-old Theresa Norton, who has joined him for the mayhem on the M25.
Ms Norton, a Labour councillor in Scarborough, north Yorkshire, told neighbours she was going on a two-week holiday before heading south to bring the country’s busiest motorway to a standstill where she was arrested four times in a week.
But like her son Ms Norton who lives in a flat without the best insulation. Her home in an Edwardian seafront terrace is understood to be protected for conservation reasons so all windows are single glazed.
Most of the properties in her street, Esplanade Gardens, have an Energy Performance Certificate rating in Band D, an average rating which ‘leaves room for improvement’, according to experts.
Last Updated on October 8, 2021 by shalw
