Transport officials in London have asked the High Court for permission to take legal action against 183 climate change activists who blocked busy roads in the UK capital to protest the use of fossil fuels.
Transport for London (TfL), the local government agency responsible for much of the capital’s transport network, is trying to prevent further roadblocks by the activist group Just Stop Oil, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion.
At a High Court hearing in London on October 27, a lawyer representing TfL told Judge Friedman that the climate change group’s protests had been “very concentrated” on London’s roads since the beginning of October. there is,” he said.
They said the “deliberate blockade” of the road had caused severe disruption and created a “risk to life”.
Earlier this month, another High Court judge, Judge Yip, granted an injunction against 62 people named “defendants” and an “unknown person” banning the blocking of certain roads in London. .
Lawyers told Judge Friedman that TfL wanted to take legal action against an additional 121 named people, bringing the total number of named defendants to 183.
Judge Yip also ordered the Metropolitan Police Department to disclose to TfL the names and addresses of those arrested as a result of the protests.
Trial Attorney Andrew Fraser Urquhart KC, who headed TfL’s legal team, told Judge Friedman that police had released the names of “more such people.”
He said as of October 26, 1,900 arrests had been made “from Justice Stop Oil protesters” since the beginning of April and 585 had been arrested since the beginning of October.
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Just Stop Oil has called on the UK government to begin a process to phase out fossil fuel production in the country.
The group began a nationwide blockade of fuel terminals on April 1, leading to more than 1,000 arrests.
The group was also filmed blocking a petrol station and damaging a petrol pump. On 26 August, Just Stop Oil said on his Twitter account, “He in central London has decommissioned pumps at seven stations.”
Since early October, the group has caused chaos in central London by blocking major roads, including The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.
On October 26, activists from the group sprayed the Ferrari and Bentley car showrooms in Mayfair with orange paint and set up roadblocks in Piccadilly.
Two members were arrested on October 28 after spraying paint on a Rolex jewelry store in Knightsbridge, central London.
Members of the group poured canned soup over the artwork and threw cakes at the Madame Tussauds wax figure of King Charles.
PA Media contributed to this report.
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