Just Stop Oil M25 protests: Essex police chief warns 'someone will be killed' if activists continue

The chief of Essex Police has warned "someone will be killed" if climate protests along the M25 continue.

Activists from the campaign group Just Stop Oil have been blocking roads in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey all week and on Wednesday an officer on a motorbike was injured while implementing a rolling roadblock.

Chief Constable of Essex Police, BJ Harrington, branded the protesters "criminals" who "care about no-one, only themselves" after the crash.

He said: "What we have been dealing with is criminal activity and it is putting lives at risk.

"Sadly and unfortunately today one of my officers was injured trying to deal with that protest.

"They were there to protect the public. They were there because these people are putting themselves up on gantries, putting their lives - and the public's lives - at risk.

"I'm pleased to say that we think the officer is ok but it could have been much more serious.

"Whatever their cause, whatever their justification is, they have got to stop.

"Someone is going to get killed.He added: "I want to make the point - what the protesters are doing is criminal behaviour, it's irresponsible behaviour and it has got to stop...they care about no-one, only themselves.

"That's clearly evident from what's happened today."

The scene of the crash in which an Essex Police officer was injured on Wednesday. Credit: Essex Police

Just Stop Oil's aim is to "demand that the government halt all new oil and gas licences and consents".

The government plans to license more than 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025.

The group said the crash on the M25 on Wednesday, which involved two lorries, was "an awful situation", and added: "The level of disruption being witnessed on the M25 should not be happening – people are rightly angry and frustrated.

"The impact on people's lives is huge. In normal circumstances this would be unacceptable. It should never have come to this.

"The failure of our politics has left us with no other option as we seek to protect our rights and freedoms from a collapse in law and order due to a heating world. 

"The government can end this, immediately, by ending dirty new oil and gas.

"The failure to abandon this toxic policy is a failure of politics and failure of leadership, it is a betrayal of us, our children and this country."

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