M25 traffic protest: Climate campaigners hurting their own cause with blockades, says Boris Johnson

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'You're making people hate you': Angry motorist clashes with M25 climate protestors

As climate campaigners blocked the M25 for the fourth time in a week on Monday morning, Boris Johnson accused them of hurting their own cause.

Speaking to reporters en route to New York, Mr Johnson said: “I don’t think these people do any favours to their cause. I think what they do is detract from a very important moral mission that is widely shared now by the people of this country.”

Mr Johnson is expected to deliver remarks at the United Nations General Assembly this week, urging world leaders to spend more in the fight against the climate crisis.

Meanwhile, protests staged this morning by Insulate Britain blocking major motorways across the country have been cleared by police, with 29 people arrested in Hertfordshire and 12 arrested in Kent.

Insulate Britain has been campaigning for two policy changes from the government. They want the government to commit to insulating all social housing in Britain by 2025. They also want the government to reduce the effects of climate change, transitioning towards a full decarbonisation of society.

Last week, protests blocked several parts of the M25 in Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire, including Junction 9 in Leatherhead, and Junction 6 in Godstone. Junction 1 of the M3 was also targeted in Sunbury, bringing traffic to a halt on Friday.

The group has said that its actions will continue until the government makes a “meaningful commitment to insulate all of Britain’s 29 million leaky homes by 2030, which are among the oldest and most energy inefficient in Europe.”

Key Points

• Insulate Britain demonstrations resume as protesters block M25
• 29 arrested in Hertfordshire in road blockades
• Boris Johnson accuses climate campaigners of hurting their own cause by blocking motorways

[20 September 2021 14:49 · Celine Wadhera]

Most Britons oppose M25 climate protests, says YouGov

Most Britons oppose M25 climate protests YouGov polling has found.

Among the general population, 59 per cent of respondents polled last week said they oppose the protests that have blocked the M25, compared with only 25 per cent who said they supported the actions.

The only time that support for the demonstrations was greater than opposition was amongst respondents who said that “pollution, the environment, and climate change” were among the top issues facing the country; in this demographic, 49 per cent supported the protests, with 39 per cent opposed.

But even then, most respondents said that actions like the M25 protests actually hinder support for climate change.

Among the general population, 64 per cent of respondents said that this kind of action hurts their cause, compared with only 7 who said that it helps their cause.

And even among those who said that “pollution, the environment, and climate change” were among the top issues facing the country, 55 per cent of respondents said that this kind of action hurts the cause of fighting the climate crisis, compared with 16 per cent who said that it helps their cause.

[20 September 2021 14:57 · Celine Wadhera]

Thanks for tuning in

This marks the end of today’s live coverage of the M25 protests.

In case you missed it, here’s what happened:

• Today’s demonstration marks the fourth day in a week that climate activists blocked sections of the M25.

• Insulate Britain protesters blocked the M25 and A1M motorways earlier today, causing disruption as demonstrators glued themselves to the asphalt and poured blue paint all over the roads.

• Hertfordshire Police arrested 29 people, and Kent Police arrested 12 who attempted to block the M25 near junction 1A.

• All roads were cleared by around lunchtime.

• Boris Johnson said that activists who block motorways in environmental demonstrations detract from the “very important moral mission” of fighting the climate crisis.

Thanks for tuning in.