Protesters said they chose Remembrance Day to stop action to call on Rishi Sunak to “honor all those who have served and loved their country” by ensuring a “living future”. Just Stop Oil held a 32-day shutdown from the end of September and throughout October, which the Metropolitan Police said led to 677 arrests with 111 people charged and officers working a total of 9,438 extra shifts. Action on the M25 has sparked outrage all week – and not just for the disruption it has caused to commuter services. Earlier in the week, Hertfordshire Police came under fire after it emerged they had arrested members of the media, including a photographer, documentary filmmaker and LBC radio journalist Charlotte Lynch. In Friday’s Daily Mail, the police came under further pressure, with its front page asking “What’s the point of this police?”, with images of a protester on a bridge over London’s Orbital motorway and several officers looking on . The protest group said on Friday that it would stop its action on the highway. The statement said: “From today, Just Stop Oil will stop its campaign of political resistance on the M25. We are giving time to those who govern and are in touch with reality to reflect on their responsibilities to this country at this time. “We ask the Prime Minister to take note of his statement at Cop27 where he spoke of the catastrophic threat posed by global warming, the 33 million people displaced by the floods in Pakistan and the moral and economic imperative to honor our commitments . “You can’t recycle words and promises – you owe it to the British people to act.” They continued: “Take the necessary first step to secure a sustainable future and stop new oil and gas. The UK Government’s failure to do so is a criminal failure of its fundamental duty – to protect and safeguard the lives of its citizens, and is an act of utter betrayal of billions of people living in the global south. It is murder, plain and simple. “Just Stop Oil supporters are now the people who uphold law and order and protect civil society. Under British law, people in this country have the right to cause a disturbance to prevent further damage – we will not stand by.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Emma Brown, from Just Stop Oil, did not say whether the group would continue their protests on the M25. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re giving the government another chance to sit down and talk to us and meet our demand, which is obviously what we all want to see, which is no new oil in the UK . .” He did not say whether campaigners could return to the M25 if their demands were not met, but said: “How can we stop? This is a danger to our lives and to the lives of you and all your listeners, so we cannot stop.” According to Just Stop Oil, its supporters have been arrested more than 2,000 times since its campaign began on April 1.
