M25 eco-protesters have ‘got it wrong’ says Sadiq Khan

Mr Khan said he believed in the right to protest and tackle the climate emergency but the tactics of Insulate Britain were ‘completely wrong’
Environmental activists blocking the M25 now face possible imprisonment
PA Wire
Emily Beament23 September 2021

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that protesters blocking the M25 to call for the Government to insulate homes have “got it wrong”.

While he defended the right to protest “peacefully, lawfully, safely” and said it was important to address the climate emergency, he warned the actions of Insulate Britain were not lawful or safe.

And they were not encouraging people to join the climate cause, Mr Khan said.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has also criticised the protesters on UK roads as “frightful old humbugs, causing trouble, distress, inconvenience and nearly causing people to die”.

The move, which has seen hundreds arrested, has prompted an angry backlash in some quarters.

Sadiq Khan said the tactics of the Insulate Britain group were wrong.
PA Wire

Speaking to reporters after a speech on the climate and air pollution crises facing London and the world, Mr Khan said: “I’m someone who passionately believes in the right to protest peacefully, lawfully, safely.

“Democracy isn’t just voting once every five years, democracy is going on protests, going on marches, signing petitions, lobbying your MP, lobbying the mayor and so forth.

“I’m also somebody who has said loudly and clearly, there is a climate emergency, you know, climate change is really significant.

“We’ve got to make sure we address the climate emergency.”

But he said: “I think the tactics of those people who are protesting on the M25 are completely wrong.

“It’s wrong because it’s not lawful, it’s not safe.

“You’re endangering in your own life, you’re endangering the lives of those on the M25, they could be people rushing to get to a hospital, it could be they’re going to an appointment, and you’re jeopardising their safety by jumping in front of cars on the M25.”

And he warned: “You’re not encouraging people to join our cause, you’re not encouraging people to understand the importance of addressing the climate emergency.”

Mr Khan said he had been investing in insulation and retrofitting in London and had been lobbying the Government to give the capital more help to do so.

Notwithstanding my commitment to the right to protest, and the fact that I think we should address the climate emergency, I think they've got it wrong

Sadiq Khan

But he warned: “You’re not making people like me more sympathetic to this issue of climate emergency, and actually what you’ve done inadvertently is to get parliamentarians bringing in laws to reduce the ability of those of us who want to protest lawfully, peacefully and safely.

“And so notwithstanding my commitment to the right to protest, and the fact that I think we should address the climate emergency, I think they’ve got it wrong.”

In the Commons, Mr Rees-Mogg defended Britain’s tradition of freedom of speech, but said: “Peaceful protest doesn’t mean running in front of cars and risking the lives of police and meaning that people who need stroke treatment may be much more seriously debilitated than they would otherwise have been.

“It doesn’t mean people saying we should insulate our homes and not insulating their own homes, frightful old humbugs, causing trouble, distress, inconvenience and nearly causing people to die.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in