Climate activists disrupt M25 traffic for third time in a week

Police in Surrey and Essex make arrests following disruption

Climate activists disrupted traffic on three major motorways in South East England on Friday morning in a third day of action this week.

The M25, M11, and M3 were all targeted by Insulate Britain, whose members are calling on the government to help insulate homes to reduce emissions.

Essex Police said 24 people were arrested following attempts to block the slip road at Junction 28 of the M25 at Brook Street roundabout.

Activists also targeted the slip road at Junction 8 of the M11 with the A120, causing congestion for around 45 minutes.

Superintendent Sam Smith said: “Incidents of this nature have the potential to cause significant disruption to road users, who may need to get to work, an appointment, or catch a flight.

“Our officers worked quickly to remove attempted protests this morning and made 24 arrests in a matter of minutes.”

He added: “The roads have now reopened and traffic is moving freely.

“I want to thank the drivers affected for their patience and understanding.”

Surrey Police said it made 14 arrests after protesters targeted Junction 9 of the M25 and Junction 1 of the M3.

Insulate Britain said 79 people attempted to block the London orbital motorway hours after their release from police custody following similar protests earlier this week.

Insulate Britain said in a statement 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."

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said: "This is dangerous and counterproductive. We all agree that climate change must be tackled, but this sort of behaviour achieves nothing, puts drivers at risk and increases pollution.

"I expect the police to take swift action to clear the roads."