Just 1 in 10 eco warriors arrested by cops has been charged as demos paralyse the country
JUST one in ten members of an eco-anarchist group arrested by cops has been charged – despite protests paralysing large parts of the country.
Environment movement Extinction Rebellion even gives a guide on its website about how to deal with arrest and boasts “most arrests are not taken any further”, with just “ten per cent of people” held due to its protests facing the courts.
The group has seen 700 arrests in the past six months, and since 2019 the clean-up bill for its campaigns has cost the Metropolitan Police £60million.
During one week this April it cost the police £10million to deal with public demonstrations, with 16,000 officers needed to oversee London demos against fossil fuels plus nearly £2million in overtime payments.
Demonstrations by six core groups — Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, Animal Rebellion, Insulate Britain, Scientist Rebellion and Tyre Extinguishers — have led to 3,000 arrests in the past six months and millions of pounds in policing costs.
MP Iain Duncan Smith last night slammed the activists, saying: “I don’t just believe they are putting lives at risk — they have put lives at risk.
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“The law has to be much, much tighter. There needs to be severe punishments. They masquerade under the illusion they are going to stop climate change when the reality is they are ruining lives.
“They need to be heavily fined . . . they need to go to prison. That is the only solution for this.”
Just Stop Oil boasts about its lack of convictions and members say arrests encourage them to continue. In the past six months the group has demonstrated almost every day, resulting in 1,900 arrests.
Incidents have included blocking roads and bridges, preventing ambulances from reaching hospitals, vandalising shops, gluing themselves to roads and throwing soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting.
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The group — which blocked roads yesterday across four London locations and was also accused of having “blood on its hands” after the deaths of two women on a hard shoulder because of one of their protests — has demonstrated almost every day over the past six months.
Animal Rebellion, which campaigns for animal and climate justice, has held at least 16 protests in the past six months, leading to 250 arrests for crimes such as stealing milk and criminal damage.
John O’Connell, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are sick of picking up the tab. While the right to protest is rightly protected, some of these stunts have gone well beyond the law and are costing huge sums. The police need to get a grip on these groups and ensure their activities stay within the law.”
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Iain Duncan Smith added: “What the new Home Secretary has to do is up the ante on these anarchists.
“Their actions put a huge strain on the police, but what’s the point of arresting them if nothing happens?”