Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested while blocking emergency vehicles during a demonstration in west London.
The Metropolitan Police arrested 28 protesters on Tuesday for “wilful obstruction of the highway” and have been taken to police stations across central London.
Separate videos shared online show both a fire engine and an ambulance on blue lights unable to get through traffic after 32 protesters blocked three roads in Knightsbridge and Brompton Road, stopping traffic in each direction, with some gluing themselves to the asphalt.
One video showed a stationary fire engine in the middle of a junction near Knightsbridge Underground Station, with protesters blocking both the road behind and in front of the fire engine.
Another video shows an ambulance trying to get to an emergency stuck in the gridlock and elsewhere in the disruption, a van driver forced their way through a crowd of protesters who attempted to push back against the charge until they eventually fled and the vehicle proceeded.
Footage shows just under a dozen officers engaging with the protestors in an attempt to move them on
Just Stop Oil later tweeted a video showing protesters moving out of the way of a fire engine with the caption: “Just Stop Oil supporters pause roadblock to let fire engine through.”
This is the group’s 11th consecutive day of disruption in London with protesters demanding the government halt all new oil and gas licences and consents.
Downing Street said the actions of Just Stop Oil protesters were “unacceptable”.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “These sorts of protests which disrupt people’s daily lives or indeed can stop our emergency services from potentially saving lives are unacceptable.
“That’s why we’ve already toughened powers for the police, we’ve given them new powers to act and we are also taking further powers through the House at the moment to ensure they can go even further in preventing these individuals from disrupting people’s lives.”
Asked whether members of the public should intervene to remove protesters, the spokesman said that while the government “can understand the public’s frustrations with their lives being disrupted in this way” it is “for the police to respond in the first instance to these sorts of protests”.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson confirmed one of their vehicles was delayed by the disruption following a fire alarm call out in west London.
“An appliance from Kensington Fire Station was temporarily stopped by a road block and arrived within 14 minutes of being called,” the spokesperson said.
“We work closely with our local authority and emergency service partners whenever there are road closure proposals to minimise impact on our service. However, given the nature of the event crews had no prior warning of the road block.”
Just Stop Oil protestors stop traffic at Knightsbridge
Less than 24 hours ago police removed and arrested 25 Just Stop Oil protesters who had glued themselves to the road of The Mall outside of Buckingham Palace.
Specialist officers used debonding liquid in plastic syringes to free the protesters who had glued themselves to the ground or to each other.
The liquid was squirted into the activists’ hands, which allowed the police to separate them before they searched and detained the campaigners.
The activists started sitting in the road at 8.45am on Monday wearing orange hi-vis jackets and holding Just Stop Oil banners, blocking traffic in both directions – with some of them glued together or to the Tarmac.
Protestors have glued themselves to the floor along a busy Knightsbridge road
Police officers search and detain a demonstrator during a ‘Just Stop Oil’ protest outside Buckingham Palace
