‘Insulate Britain’ protestors have superglued their hands and faces on motorway exits and live lanes of the motorway across London so that they can continue to demonstrate for longer without being removed by the police while also making the roads inaccessible to vehicles. The protestors have blocked roads in three locations across London, as the climate activist group resumed its campaign after a 10-day hiatus.
Liverpool Street, Upper Thames Street and Limehouse Cause were among locations that were blocked by climate change activists as police attempted to remove the protestors.
The group has been staging demonstrations since September 13 on major arterial routes in London and near the port of Dover, causing widespread gridlock and traffic disruption. They have demanded that the British government fund the insulation of all social housing by 2025 and that the government comes up with a plan by the end of 2021 to fund the retrofitting of all homes in Britain by 2030.
Social media is awash with images and videos of protestors glued to the roads as commuters and police desperately struggled to remove them.
🚨 | NEW: Police are unable to move or arrest some Insulate Britain protestors as they have physically glued themselves to the groundpic.twitter.com/u0XXlk0tJC
— News For All (@NewsForAllUK) October 25, 2021
This made my day 😂 pic.twitter.com/IYGyr0x3Wt
— Mahyar Tousi (@MahyarTousi) October 25, 2021
The glue unit has arrived #InsulateBritain #ClimateAction #skynews pic.twitter.com/GflcRbR7cZ
— Shamaàn Freeman-Powell (@Shamaan_SkyNews) September 27, 2021
Frustrated commuters engage with Insulate Britain protestors
Several videos and images have surfaced over the past month showing police and commuters hauling protestors off the road in the United Kingdom.
🚨 | NEW: Motorists have started to drag Insulate Britain protestors off the road pic.twitter.com/Z0F6XygoKw
— News For All (@NewsForAllUK) October 25, 2021
Climate protesters are being dragged off of M25 after another protest this morning. Is the sixth in 2 weeks.
— Shamaàn Freeman-Powell (@Shamaan_SkyNews) September 27, 2021
Say they will keep ignoring high court injunctions until the government produces plan to insulate British homes. #InsulateBritain #m25protests #ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/D0YpYREhJk
A furious commuter was seen dragging and tying an Insulate Britain protestor to a railing with his own banner.
Legend!! ✊🏻🤣
— Paul B 🇬🇧 🔴 (@pauldbowen) October 19, 2021
A man has tied an Insulate Britain protestor to a railing with his own banner#InsulateBritainLoonies 🤡’s
pic.twitter.com/PNZLwXG163
In another video that has surfaced online, a distraught driver, whose ailing father was battling cancer, was not permitted to pass through by the Insulate Britain protesting mob. The driver is seen yelling at them, wishing that the protestors and their families meet the same fate as his father.
The unidentified driver seen near the blocked Liverpool Street Station shouted: “If anyone gets cancer, please let it be people you know. So you know what it’s like to have your loved ones unable to get treatment… I hope you know what it’s like. My father needs treatment and you sit here doing this.”
“If anyone gets cancer, I hope your parents… Are your parents alive? Do you know what it’s like? Someone trying to get treatment for cancer and you’re standing here like this. People are trying to get to the hospital. Of all places. If anyone gets cancer, please let it be your family, let you know what it feels like,” added the driver.
Frustrated drivers were seen exiting their vehicles to confront the neo-environmentalists. One van driver began to slowly ram the protestors as they stood and sat in the middle of the road. The police were then quick to intervene to force the driver to stop.
‘Insulate Britain’ protestors regret supergluing themselves on the road
While many activists exhibited no remorse for their action, some regretted agreeing to the bizarre way of demonstrating, which involved glueing themselves to the road. One woman who first glued her hand down was taken away by police and as she was released, she screamed and said she was “in agony”.
Another activist named Matthew told The Mirror that he was in the “head glued to the road stage of protest” and that he was partially regretting his actions.
“It’s not one of my better moves but it was to make a statement that things are fairly critical,” he rued.
Meanwhile, the public in London has expressed their anger at ‘activists’ who have blocked main thoroughfares, halting traffic on major arterial routes in the city. One man, who shouted as he walked by, said: “We all have jobs to go to.”
Another walked up to the protesters, looked down and said: “What are you doing in the middle of the road. I can’t get to work.”
One man walked up to the protesters and said: “Why are you doing this? Get a job. I was trying to get to work and have had to walk just to get there. I pay my taxes.”
A woman named Sherrilyn Speid, who spoke to GB News, expressed her anger at the protestors. “If I don’t go to work I don’t get paid. My son deserves an education. It’s completely wrong what they’re doing,” said Speid adding that the Insulate Britain protesters were “rude and laughed at me” when she asked them to move.
‘If I don’t go to work I don’t get paid. My son deserves an education. It’s completely wrong what they’re doing.’
— GB News (@GBNEWS) October 20, 2021
Sherrilyn Speid, the mum who faced up to Insulate Britain protesters, says ‘they were rude and laughed at me’ when she asked them to move. pic.twitter.com/wyto0aRooz
The ‘Insulate Britain’ protest
Meanwhile, reports suggest that more than 60 protesters blocked junctions at the north end of Southwark Bridge, Bishopsgate and the Limehouse Causeway on Friday, the 14th time they have staged protests since mid-September.
The Metropolitan police have, meanwhile, confirmed that hundreds of arrests have been made, with some people detained several times. Insulate Britain, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, wants the government of Britain to insulate all UK homes by 2030 to cut carbon emissions.
Figures within the British government, including the Home Secretary Priti Patel, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have condemned the protesters’ actions. On 4 October, Johnson said that Insulate Britain, who were not “legitimate protesters”, were “irresponsible crusties”.
Increased penalties for road disruptions, criminalization of infrastructure disturbance, and police “stop and search” powers were announced by Home Secretary Priti Patel at the Conservative Party Conference in 2021. Patel particularly mentioned Insulate Britain in her announcement.
In an interview, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, stated he totally understood the frustration shown by the Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain protesters, but added that it should be directed “in a way that is more constructive rather than destructive”, as their current methods are not “helpful” and only alienate people.
