Police arrest 62 protesters at Just Stop Oil demonstration in Parliament Square

Police swoop as activists block road outside Houses of Parliament in protest on Monday morning
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Police have arrested 62 Just Stop Oil protesters after a demonstration in central London.

Dozens of demonstrators lay down in the road near Parliament Square in Westminster at about 10am.

The Metropolitan Police said officers arrived four minutes after receiving a report and have subsequently arrested 62 people under section seven of the Public Order Act.

The protest group said around 65 activists were marching on Monday morning to demand an end to new oil and gas.

A spokesman added: “Ordinary people are in the road at Parliament Square, calling out our government’s genocidal policy of new fossil fuels. We will not stop.”

The Metropolitan Police said it arrived within four minutes of receiving the initial report, adding: “Officers are responding to a number of Just Stop Oil activists in the road. "

“Officers will respond quickly to minimise disruption for Londoners,” the Metropolitan Police added.

Just Stop Oil protest at Westminster, London

Just Stop Oil protest
1/12

Mr Justice Soole is due to announce a decision on Monday after considering evidence at a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London last week.

One protester accused of breaching a court injunction by climbing on to an M25 gantry is a 76-year-old grandmother.

Retired teacher Gaie Delap, from Bristol, told the judge that the “climate emergency” was not being taken seriously enough and her “heart was breaking” for the future of “my six grandchildren”.

Ms Delap is one of 12 people accused of taking part in M25 protests in November 2022 and breaching a court injunction.

Lawyers representing National Highways told the judge that protesters caused “considerable delays” and are in contempt of court.

The protesters have all mounted arguments in their defence.

Three other people aged over 55 – Paul Sousek, 72, Theresa Norton, 65, and Paul Bleach, 56 – feature in the litigation.

Others protesters accused of contempt at the hearing were: Charlotte Kirin, 54; Daniel Johnson, 25; Joseph Linhart, 22; Luke Elson, 30; Mair Bain, 36; Paul Bell, 23; Rosemary Jackson, 25; and Theresa Higginson, 25.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in