Just Stop Oil: Police chief says officers uphold ‘liberal democracy’ after Braverman demands crackdown

‘We’re not going to arrest our way out of environmental protest’ warns policing leader

Police officers block the highway as an activist puts up a banner on a gantry on the M25 (Getty Images)

A police leader has defended the “absolutely appropriate” response to Just Stop Oil after Suella Braverman called for tougher action.

Chief constable Chris Noble, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for protests, defended the approach taken to days of disruptive action targeting the M25.

It came after the home secretary told a conference of police leaders it was their “duty to take a firmer line to safeguard public order” and accused them of an “institutional reluctance” to use their powers against protesters.