UK
Just Stop Oil protester defends M25 disruption: ‘Birds are falling out of the sky, pensioners are dying’
A Just Stop Oil campaigner has defended the disruption caused by protests as activists blocked the M25 for a fourth day, warning that “this is just the beginning”.
In a fiery exchange with Sky News’ Mark Austin, Indigo Rumbelow insisted the climate crisis is set to get “worse and worse and worse unless we act.”
Appearing on The News Hour With Mark Austin, Ms Rumbelow described the situation as “incredibly grave” and said Just Stop Oil has one simple demand – for the government to stop licencing new gas and oil in the UK.
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“We need everybody to come and join us so that we don’t have to cause this type of disruption on the motorways,” she said.
“We need to be sat outside parliament with tens and tens of thousands of people demanding an end to new oil and gas.”
Ms Rumbelow added: “It is very clear the disruption will end as soon as the government issue a statement to stop new oil and gas.
“Protests will have to continue because, at the moment, I just do not know what else we’re going to do.”
The campaigner was interviewed as police forces scramble to deal with demonstrations which have caused severe delays on Britain’s busiest motorway.
The actions of protesters have been branded “criminal, reckless and dangerous” by Essex Police Chief Constable BJ Harrington, who warned it is “only a matter of time” before someone gets killed.
He spoke out after a police officer was injured in a collision between two lorries while responding to a protest on the M25.
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Sky’s Martin Brunt is near junction eight of the M25 in Surrey, where Just Stop Oil protests have taken place for the fourth day in a row.
But when asked about whether Just Stop Oil’s message is getting “lost” in angry debate about their methods, Ms Rumbelow said: “The climate crisis is disrupting people around the world right now and even here in the UK this summer we saw the effects of the climate crisis.
“With the UK getting 40C heat and birds falling out of the sky and pensioners dying before they should.
“This isn’t an issue of just green policy or just the climate protestors, it’s an issue that’s going to impact you, it’s going to impact me, it’s going to impact your children if you have children and it’s impacting people around the world, so our government’s decision to go ahead with new oil and gas with the full knowledge that this will kill millions of people is a complete act of betrayal on my generation.”
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She accepted the disruption is “not pleasant”, adding: “We feel empathy for all those people out there” but insisted the action was necessary to get the government to listen.