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Insulate Britain: Fifty-two arrested as protesters block major roads in east London

Insulate Britain has renewed its roadblock campaign after a pause, targeting commuters on a busy road in east London.

Demonstrators from the environmental group obstructed the Limehouse Causeway at the junction with the A1206 about 8.20am on Monday.

Another team has also blocked Liverpool Street.

The Metropolitan Police said 52 demonstrators had been arrested and are en route to custody.

In a statement, the campaign group said that 61 demonstrators had blocked three locations on Upper Thames Street, Bishopsgate and Limehouse Causeway. Footage posted on social media showed drivers hauling protesters from the road and lying them on the pavement.

Another clip showed police struggling to remove protesters who had superglued themselves to the road.

City of London police confirmed that officers remained at the scene.

They wrote: “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.

“Police are also at Southwark Bridge at the junction with Upper Thames Street, which is also closed in both directions, due to protest activity.

“Please avoid the area if possible.”

The group has blocked the roads near Canary Wharf again after suspending their campaign for 11 days (Insulate Britain)
The group has blocked the roads near Canary Wharf again after suspending their campaign for 11 days (Insulate Britain)

Protester Tony Hill, who claimed to be a former police officer, soldier and councillor, and said he had travelled from near Kendal in Cumbria to join the protest in Bishopsgate, said Insulate Britain’s call to insulate all UK homes is a “no brainer”.

The 71-year-old said: “I’m here today out of anger, fear and determination.

“We’re saying insulate as many buildings as we can. It’s a no brainer. It’s something we can all do, it’s a solution.

“We’ve got the money; all we need is the willpower from our Government to do it. It will save money, create jobs, save lives and save the planet.”

Members of the public heckled protesters blocking the road at the junction of Bishopsgate and Camomile Street.

One man, who shouted as he walked by, said: “We all have jobs to go to.”

It marks a return for the protest group after they suspended their activities for 11 days following resistance from motorists.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister on October 14, they announced they would suspend their campaign in the runup to the COP26 conference in Glasgow.

Insulate Britain – an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion – wants the Government to insulate all UK homes by 2030 to cut carbon emissions.

The group blocked roads on 14 days over the five weeks to October 14, with activists often gluing their hands to the carriageway to increase the length of time it takes for police to remove them.

Liam Norton from Insulate Britain 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.”

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