A total of 61 of activists were sitting on roads carrying Insulate Britain banners, and some glued themselves to the road surface
The Metropolitan Police has said that 53 people have been arrested following the Insulate Britain demonstrations occurring in three seperate locations across London.
In a statement, Insulate Britain has said that following a 10-day break 61 people blocked three locations across the capital including on Upper Thames Street, Bishopsgate and Limehouse Causeway in Canary Wharf, all of the main routes in and around the city.
Traffic on Bishopsgate was brought to a halt as protesters blocked the road at the junction of Camomile Street.
Protesters also began supergluing themselves to the ground.
One woman who first glued her hand down was taken away by police and as she was released, she screamed and said she was “in agony”.
Buses and other vehicles were held up as activists sat in the road at the traffic lights.
Drivers were handed a notice from the protesters which read: “Dear driver, we are peaceful and non-violent. We are sorry to delay your journey.
“For your safety please stay in your vehicle and do not drive on the hard shoulder. This is for emergency vehicles.
“The police are on their way. They will arrest us and you will be able to continue your journey.”
This comes after the price of unleaded has rocketed from 114.5p a year ago, adding £15 to the cost of filling up a 55-litre family car. Petrol prices within the UK have hit a record high in what the RAC has described as a “truly dark day for drivers”.
The Met tweeted: “53 people were arrested, those arrests were for obstructing the highway.
“A number of activists had glued themselves to the road, or each other, in order to frustrate our response. We worked as quickly as possible to safely make arrests and clear any disruption.”
Tony Hill, 71, who travelled from near Kendal in Cumbria to join the protest, said Insulate Britain’s call to insulate all UK homes was a “no brainer”.
Members of the public heckled protesters blocking the roads.
One man, who shouted as he walked by, said: “We all have jobs to go to.”
Another walked up to the protesters, looked down and said: “What are you doing in the middle of the road. I can’t get to work.”
It is the 14th time Insulate Britain has caused disruption on motorways and A roads as part of its campaign.
The City of London Police tweeted to say they were aware of the disruption.
They said: “Bishopsgate is currently closed at the junction with Wormwood Street due to protest activity. Police are at the scene but please avoid the area if possible as this is causing disruption to traffic.”
Officers also said they were at “Southwark Bridge at the junction with Upper Thames Street”, closed in both directions due to protest activity.
In the statement, activist Liam Norton branded the government “treasonous”, claiming it had “betrayed” citizens.
He said: “We know that the public is frustrated and annoyed at the disruption we have caused.
“They should know that one way or another this country will have to stop emitting carbon. We can do that now in an orderly, planned way, insulating homes and preventing thousands of deaths from fuel poverty, or we can wait until millions have lost their homes and are fighting for water or starving to death.”
This comes after Dominic Raab has told LBC that he wants to draft in British ex-offenders and existing prisoners in order to support the economy instead of relying on foreign labour’s “old addiction”.
Insulate Britain, which is an offshoot of climate activism group Extinction Rebellion, wants the government to insulate all homes within the UK by the year 2030 in order to cut carbon emissions.
The group has blocked roads on 14 days over the five weeks to 14 October, with activists often gluing themselves hands to the carriageway in order to increase the length of time that it takes for police officers to remove them.
Hundreds of arrests had been made, with some people being detained several times.
The campaign has continued despite injunctions leaving the protesters facing court summons and possible imprisonment or an unlimited fine.
