The Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey Lisa Townsend has condemned the ‘reckless and dangerous’ actions of protesters who once again caused disruption on the M25 in Surrey this morning.
The Commissioner said the behaviour of Just Stop Oil protesters who scaled overhead gantries on the motorway put ordinary people’s lives at risk and were completely unacceptable.
Police were called this morning to four different locations on the Surrey stretch of the M25 and a number of arrests have been made. Similar protests were also seen in Essex, Hertfordshire and London.
Commissioner Lisa Townsend said: “Sadly once again we have seen people’s everyday lives being disrupted by the reckless actions of these protesters.
“No matter what the cause, climbing overhead gantries on the busiest motorway in the country during the Monday morning rush hour is dangerous in the extreme and totally unacceptable.
“These protesters not only put their own safety at risk but also those people who were using the motorway to go about their own business and those officers called out to deal them. You can only imagine what could have happened had someone fallen onto the carriageway.
“I am pleased to see the swift response by Surrey Police who were quickly on the scene to detain those involved. But yet again our precious police resources have had to be diverted to deal with these protesters and keep everyone safe.
“What we need to see now is those responsible put before the courts and given punishments that reflect the seriousness of their actions.
“I am a strong believer in peaceful and lawful protest but the vast majority of the public have had enough. The actions of this group are getting increasingly more dangerous and must be stopped before someone is seriously hurt.”