- Gordon leads Just Stop Oil response
- Met spent £20 million
- Liberty concerns over arrests
The Met’s policing response to the most recent round of Just Stop Oil protests was planned by Commander Kyle Gordon, who stated that the protestors have no right to “indiscriminately and unavoidably disrupt Londoners.”
The Metropolitan Police have urged the Just Stop Oil group to cooperate with them after disclosing that it has spent close to £20 million policing the environmentalists.
Commander Kyle Gordon, the senior officer tasked with devising the Metropolitan Police’s policing strategy for the most recent round of Just Stop Oil’s demonstrations, stated that the force had requested the group to participate in their autumn protests; however, the activists declined.
Cost of Policing and Officer Resources
Scotland Yard previously estimated that the time spent on the group constituted the removal of approximately 300 officers per day. This impacted frontline policing duties throughout London.
The Met reported £19.9 million spent on the gang, including £3.5 million since October.
This autumn, 10,500 officer duties have been utilized, according to the force.
Commander Gordon remarked that the group’s spring campaign brought London to a “standstill” and further stated, “Their proclaimed intention leading up to the autumn was to attempt to bring London to a standstill once more… “Therefore, we were compelled to police the demonstration, and although we requested that Just Stop Oil engage with us, they declined.
Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023 gave the Metropolitan Police proactive policing powers. According to the senior officer, these powers apply in its dealings with activists who block roads in the capital.
An individual who “obstructs the use or operation of any critical national infrastructure in England and Wales” is subject to detention by the police.
Scotland Yard reported that 657 Just Stop Oil activists have been arrested since the powers were first used in October. It’s the highest number of arrests ever made in response to mass unlawful disruption.
338 of those arrested for five weeks have been charged, while 308 have been freed on bond.
Some people have been arrested on multiple occasions and are facing numerous charges.
The new powers were used to disperse a gathering at Whitehall in central London with 79 arrests in 20 minutes.
Advocacy for the Right to Peaceful Protest
The campaign organization Liberty has expressed concern over the number of arrests in recent weeks. They contend that individuals have the right to be heard on matters that are significant to them.
“The Metropolitan Police Service acknowledges the presumption in favour of peaceful protest,” stated Commander Gordon. They cannot continue to disrupt Londoners in the same way as before.
When queried about the forthcoming developments in the partnership between the Metropolitan Police and Just Stop Oil, Commander Gordon responded, “I am optimistic that the subsequent phase will involve Just Stop Oil proactively initiating communication with us… Furthermore, they began to interact with us within the last two weeks. We concurred with them on certain restrictions regarding their ability to protest. Regrettably, whenever that activity occurred in reality on the ground, they were once again impeding traffic flow.
They returned, leaving us with no choice but to apprehend them.
Govt to announce measures, including high skilled worker salary
