Police have “proactively” arrested Just Stop Oil protesters suspected of planning to cause major disruption on UK motorways.
The Metropolitan Police said their “significant” operation had resulted in at least three people being detained, who the force had “strong reason to believe are intent on causing reckless and serious disruption to the public”.
In a statement released late on Sunday, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: “Acting on intelligence, this operation is fast-moving and will continue this evening and overnight with multiple arrest enquiries underway.
“So far this evening we have made three arrests linked to this activity.
“This is an evolving situation and we suspect the intent of these individuals is disproportionate to any legitimate right to protest and clearly crosses the line into unlawful activity.
“Our investigation has strong reason to suspect the Just Stop Oil group intend to disrupt major motorway road networks which would risk serious harm to the public, with reckless action to obstruct the public on a large scale.”
The suspects were arrested for allegedly conspiring to cause public nuisance, according to the Met Police.
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Mr Twist warned there “remains a possibility” that other suspects are “still intent on causing unlawful disruption to the public”.
The Met has mobilised specialist teams and drawn police officers from across London to respond, he added.
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Just Stop Oil removed from London roads
Image: File pic
‘Unreasonable disruption’
“We are calling on the public to assist us,” Mr Twist said. “Remain vigilant – if you see something suspicious or witness an attempt to cause disruption call 999 immediately.
“Operations like these come at a cost. Since the start of October we have used more than 10,000 officer shifts to police Just Stop Oil protests.
“These are officers who would otherwise be dealing with issues that matter to local communities, such as knife crime, safeguarding and responding to burglaries.
“We are determined to bring to justice all of those who conspire to cause significant and unreasonable disruption to London, or cause damage to buildings, property or valuables.
“It’s what the public expects, and we’ll work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and courts to make sure this happens.”
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Moment protesters brought down from QE2 bridge
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Who are Just Stop Oil?
National Highways has secured a High Court injunction to prevent Just Stop Oil protesters disrupting England’s busiest motorway.
The court has granted a further injunction which aims to stop unlawful demonstrations on the M25, which encircles Greater London, in an attempt to end disruption to the busy road by the environmental group.
It means that anyone entering the motorway and fixing themselves to any object or structure on it, and anyone assisting in such an act, can be held in contempt of court.
They could face imprisonment, an unlimited fine, and the seizure of assets.
Just Stop Oil have attracted widespread attention, and fierce criticism, in recent weeks for their stunts which have involved spraying orange paint on buildings and scaling a bridge to force the closure of the M25 Dartford Crossing.
The climate change activists staged 32 days of disruption from the end of September and throughout October, which the Met said resulted in 677 arrests with 111 people charged.
The protesters have been calling on the government to abandon plans to licence more than 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025, and to do more to help people with their skyrocketing energy bills.
The first known victim of serial paedophile Richard Burrows has told Sky News he regrets not reporting his assault at the time to save others from “falling into the same trap”.
Burrows, 81, will learn his sentence at Chester Crown Court today after being convicted last month of dozens of sexual offences against young boys.
The judge told him it is “inevitable” he might never be released.
The former scout master had spent 27 years on the run, living in what he called “paradise” in Thailand, after stealing the identity of a friend and fleeing the UK when he was due in court in 1997.
Image: A police photo of Burrows from the 1990s. Pic: Cheshire Police
He was arrested when he arrived at Heathrow in March last year.
The trial heard that Burrows had obtained positions of authority and systematically abused boys from the 1960s to the mid-1990s.
He had worked as a housemaster at a school for troubled boys and befriended other youngsters through amateur radio clubs.
One of those was his first victim, aged 14 at the time in the late 1960s, and now 71.
He told Sky News: “It’s been an awfully long time and after 57 years I’ve got to see the results at the end of it.
“It does actually feel like a weight’s been lifted. You hear that expression all through life, but it’s the first time ever really felt it.”
He described Burrows as a “devious, nasty creature”.
The man, who cannot be identified as he is the victim of a sexual offence, attended Burrows’s trial and delivered a victim impact statement at his sentencing.
He said he wanted to do this because of the regret he carries to this day.
“I wish I’d said something when it happened because I feel that, in retrospect, if I would have said something, then maybe it would have stopped other people from falling into the same trap that I did,” he added.
“But at that time, at that age, I thought I probably wouldn’t have been believed, and I felt too ashamed and embarrassed and even guilty to even mention it to anybody else. So, I didn’t, and I regret not doing that.”
Image: Photos of Burrows in Thailand. Pic: Cheshire Police
The man contacted police after seeing an appeal for help in finding the fugitive Burrows on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme in 2011. It would be another decade before he was arrested.
He said: “I really begrudge him those 27 years. It’s 27 years and he’s just left a trail of wreckage behind him while he’s enjoying himself.
“It’s a shame he’s not got another 27 years to look forward to in jail.”
Although he was the earliest victim on the indictment at Burrows’s trial, like detectives from Cheshire Police, he believes there could be other victims who have not come forward.
He said: “Personally, I don’t think I was the first victim. I think that he was probably fairly well practiced in the art of what he was doing prior to my meeting him.”
Image: Burrows being met by police at Heathrow. Pic: Cheshire Police
Burrows was initially charged in May 1997 but failed to attend a hearing later that year.
He remained on the wanted list until police using facial recognition software matched him to a man using the name Peter Smith. He had stolen the identity of a terminally ill friend to obtain a passport.
After his conviction in March, judge Steven Everett told Burrows he had caused “untold distress and trauma to the victims and their families”.
The UK has joined US forces in attacking a Houthi target in Yemen for the first time since Donald Trump was re-elected.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the strikes took place on Tuesday as part of the government’s response to Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The ministry said careful intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings used by the Houthis to manufacture the sort of drones used to attack ships, located 15 miles south of the capital Sanaa.
RAF Typhoon FGR4s conducted strikes on several buildings using Paveway IV precision-guided bombs.
The planes had air refuelling support from Voyager tankers.
The ministry said the strike was conducted after dark to reduce the likelihood of civilians being in the area.
All the aircraft returned safely.
Image: John Healey. Pic: Reuters
Defence Secretary John Healey said: “This government will always act in the interests of our national and economic security.
“Royal Air Force Typhoons have successfully conducted strikes against a Houthi military target in Yemen and all UK aircraft and personnel have returned safely to base.
“We conducted these strikes, supported by the US, to degrade Houthi capabilities and prevent further attacks against UK and international shipping.”
Houthis a ‘persistent threat’ to ‘freedom of navigation’
Mr Healey said Houthi activities in the Red Sea are a “persistent threat” to “freedom of navigation”.
“A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fuelling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK,” he said.
“The government is steadfast in our commitment to reinforcing global stability and protecting British working people. I am proud of the dedication and professionalism shown by the service men and women involved in this operation.”
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The group began launching attacks on shipping routes in November 2023 saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
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Footage showing people being pulled from rubble has been released by Houthi rebels in Yemen