Powers FINALLY granted to lock up eco-protesters blocking Port of Dover as High Court grants injunction
ECO-protesters who blocked the Port of Dover today face jail if they return after an injunction was granted by the High Court.
Cops tried to drag the Insulate Britain mob away from the busiest port in Europe yesterday as they brought freight lorries grinding to a halt.
The out-of-touch stunt came as Britain is gripped by a trucker shortage.
Around 40 activists targeted the A20 at the Eastern Docks roundabout in Kent, as well as the junction with Union Street for the Western Docks at around 8.20am.
The hi-vis-wearing pack brought traffic to a standstill, with some even gluing their hands to the road surface and others climbing onto the top of lorries.
Yesterday’s new injunction prevents protesters from occupying the A20 and strategic roads linked to the Port of Dover.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We won’t tolerate reckless behaviour on motorways or ports.
“I’m therefore seeking a further injunction to prevent this disruption.
“Living in a democracy everyone is entitled to protest, but that doesn’t extend to closing roads and ruining livelihoods.”
It means anyone breaching the order could face a prison sentence, similar to the injunction granted after the M25 protests.
A spokesman for Insulate Britain apologised for “the disruption we are causing” – but the protesters plonked themselves on the road anyway and now face jail.
Queues trailed back at least a mile and a half, and motorists quickly lost patience and confronted the “disrespectful” demonstrators.
One shouted: “Do you really think stopping a couple of lorries is going to do anything? You’re just p***ing everyone off.”
Another woman caught in the hold-up with kids on their way to school said: “Education is far more important than this right now.
“What are you teaching children to do, sit in the middle of the road, at your age? Come on, get up, move on. You’ve got no respect from me whatsoever.”
And one man shouted: “We need insulating from you.”
Dover Town Councillor Neil Rix, who owns N.T.Rix Scaffolding and Demolition, described the chaos as “an absolute nuisance”.
He told : “I’ve got lorries and staff stuck in it.
“We’ve got contractors waiting for scaffolding to go up but we’ve got three lorries stuck and around 23 people. It’s costing us thousands of pounds.”
The blockade also meant lorries and other vehicles trying to cross the Channel were unable to move, as Britain’s supermarket supply crisis worsens.
The chaos could hit petrol and fuel supplies, as well as fresh food deliveries.
The British Retail Consortium told The Sun Online delays longer than two hours could impact salad, vegetables and soft fruit, likely reducing shelf life.
And the Food and Drink Federation’s head of international trade, Dominic Goudie, told us: “Any additional pressures, such as blockages at the ports, may cause further disruption for the food supply chain.
“Given the many challenges already facing the just-in-time supply chains, any additional disruption including delayed arrivals of key ingredients could undermine production lines.”
Come on, get up, move on. You’ve got no respect from me whatsoever.
Driver at the scene
It follows more than a week of motorway demonstrations, sparking four-hour delays.
The group is demanding the government immediately promises to fully fund the insulation of all social housing in Britain by 2025.
It also wants ministers to agree to produce, within four months, a legally binding national plan for a low carbon retrofit of all homes by 2030.
An Insulate spokesman said: “We are blocking Dover this morning to highlight that fuel poverty is killing people in Dover and across the UK.
“We need a Churchillian response: we must tell the truth about the urgent horror of the climate emergency.
‘NO-BRAINER’
“Change at the necessary speed and scale requires economic disruption.
“We wish it wasn’t true, but it is. It’s why the 2000 fuel protests got a U-turn in policy and gave Blair his biggest challenge as Prime Minister.”
They added: “We are sorry for the disruption that we are causing.”
Kent Police said it has arrested 39 people over the protests at the Port of Dover.
The force said they were detained on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and obstructing a highway, over demonstrations at Jubilee Way, Snargate Street and the A20 junction with Aycliffe.
‘GUERRILLA TACTICS’
One person, who managed to sit themselves on top of a tanker, was lifted down by officers using an orange sling.
She was then carried over to a police van where she was searched.
Chief Superintendent Simon Thompson said: “The impact this disruption had on the local community and port-bound traffic is not lost on us and I would like to thank those adversely affected by it for their patience whilst we made the area safe again.”
It’s totally irresponsible for these protesters to try to cripple a vital trade route at a time when the nation is already facing difficulties with deliveries.
Mr Shapps and Home Secretary Priti Patel were left “furious” at the group’s “guerrilla tactics”.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “The British public are rightly furious that the behaviours of a selfish minority have been putting lives at risk and causing untold disruption on our roads and now at Dover.
“We will not tolerate the recklessness of these few activists and the police continue to have our full support in cracking down on their dangerous behaviour.
“The public and the police want officers back serving their communities and cutting crime, not dealing with people happy to put the safety and needs of others at risk.”
Mr Shapps and Home Secretary Priti Patel were left “furious” at the group’s “guerrilla tactics”.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “The British public are rightly furious that the behaviours of a selfish minority have been putting lives at risk and causing untold disruption on our roads and now at Dover.
“We will not tolerate the recklessness of these few activists and the police continue to have our full support in cracking down on their dangerous behaviour.
“The public and the police want officers back serving their communities and cutting crime, not dealing with people happy to put the safety and needs of others at risk.”
Insulate Britain blocked the M25 five times last week by recklessly running into oncoming traffic, causing travel chaos for thousands of Brits.
A government spokesman added: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy and there will always be space for people to make their voices heard, but that is not on busy roads or at a vital port, putting lives at risk.
“The demonstrations we have seen over the last few weeks have wreaked havoc on our roads, disrupted thousands of people and put lives in danger, and we are taking action to prevent these kinds of guerrilla tactics being used in the future.
“We thank the police for their quick and decisive action to remove the protestors and keep the port open.”
