Just Stop Oil supporters from Lancaster and Morecambe arrested in fifth week of London road blockades

They are among hundreds of Just Stop Oil supporters who have been arrested for blocking traffic in Central London, bringing the capital to a standstill for the fifth week running.

They are demanding that the Government commits to ending all new oil and gas projects in the UK.Just Stop Oil supporters from the North of England blocked the three roads next to Mansion House Tube station on Thursday.

The same group – 61 in total - returned on Saturday to block four locations across central London - Charing Cross Road, High Street Kensington, Harleyford Street and Blackfriars Road.

Each time they disrupted traffic by sitting in the road with their now familiar banners.

Some supporters glued themselves onto the tarmac while others locked on to each other with steel tubes, making their removal more difficult.Caroline Cattermole, a retired councillor from Lancaster, was arrested twice last week, having already spent time in jail last month for blockading the Kingsbury Oil Terminal in Warwickshire.

She said “Our government is giving the go ahead to more than a hundred new UK oil and gas licenses which is exactly the opposite of what the scientists are telling us needs to happen if we are to avoid climate breakdown. J

"Just this week the United Nations Environment Agency made it clear ‘all countries need to avoid locking in new oil and gas infrastructure’ and that ‘new oil and gas fields are incompatible with 1.5 degrees of warming’. In plain language that means our government is betraying us and sacrificing all that we hold dear and I cannot stand by and let that happen.”Diana Martin, 77, a grandmother of four from Lancaster, and one of those arrested multiple times since the blockades began on October 1 said: “We are the last people on earth who can stop the worst effects of the climate crisis.

"The window of opportunity is closing to avoid monstrous climate tipping points which will spell the beginning of the end of life as we know it.

"I want all our children and grandchildren to be able to enjoy all the things that I love about being alive.

"By ignoring the increasingly desperate warnings of the world’s climate scientists our genocidal government is stealing our young people’s futures and complicit in the climate horrors affecting people across the Global South right now. We have to stand up and resist them before it’s too late.”Sandra Elsworth, a 66 year old mother of two and pensioner from Morecambe, also arrested multiple times this month, said: “I’m here to stop new oil and gas! The Government keeps issuing new fossil fuel licenses when they know, because the scientists tell them, that oil and gas are killing us.

"The burning of fossil fuels is taking us full pelt towards climate breakdown and they’re fuelling the greatest cost of living crisis ever. The Government has to get a grip and stop issuing new licenses, and I’ll keep coming back until they do!”There have been scenes of angry drivers shouting abuse, throwing traffic bollards and dragging the Just Stop Oil supporters off the road, only for them to return immediately to sit down in the road again. However, despite these reports, recent polling has shown a huge surge in support for nonviolent direct action of the sort carried out by Just Stop Oil, with 66% saying they support taking nonviolent direct action to protect the climate and just 34% opposed.The actions over the weekend follow 29 days of continuous disruption by supporters of Just Stop Oil, which have resulted in around 650 arrests.

Since the campaign began on April 1, Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested nearly 2,000 times, with 6 currently in prison.

The London blockades come after the Government announced it plans to license more than 130 new oil and gas projects. Just Stop Oil say they are peacefully resisting those plans, and what they see as the government’s failure to fulfil its promise to tackle the climate crisis and help people with their skyrocketing energy bills. The energy price hike on October 1 means almost 8 million households are expected to fall into fuel poverty by April 1 2023, while energy companies are accused of making huge profits.A spokesperson from the campaign said: “This is not a one-day event - expect us every day and anywhere. This is an act of resistance against a criminal government and their genocidal death project. Our supporters will not stop until our demand is met: no new UK oil and gas.“We will not be intimidated by changes to the law; we will not be stopped by private injunctions sought to silence peaceful people. Our supporters understand that these are irrelevant when set against mass starvation, slaughter, the loss of our rights, freedoms and communities.“Stand with our supporters in prison, with the 1,700 murdered across the global south, for protecting all our lives. We have every right, and indeed a duty, to disrupt, to disobey and to resist. We stand to lose everything we’ve got, so we’ve got to give it everything we’ve got. It’s going to take all of us. Step up and take action. Join our weekly zoom calls on Tuesdays at 7pm. And join us at Downing Street at 11am every day during October.”