Priti Patel condemns ‘eco mob’ for forcing closure of one in three petrol stations in southern England
Hundreds of environmental activists have taken part in direct action against petrol terminals, causing one in three fuel stations in the south of England to close.
Campaigners from Just Stop Oil continued direct action against fossil fuel-linked firms, targeting three major fuel depots in Hertfordshire, Essex and Warwickshire over the weekend.
The group said more than 400 people have taken part in the 10 days of action sp far, which has led to 11 terminals being blocked.
According to the telegraph, around 1,200 pumps had to turn away cars as a result, which led to home secretary Priti Patel branding them an “eco mob”, and blaming Labour for blocking a bid to give police more powers to stop such action.
Protestors are urging the government to stop pursuing new drilling for oil and gas, in its bid to shore up energy security amid the war in Ukraine.
Environment minister George Eustice also criticised the protestors saying they were “wrong” to blockade terminals, “trying to cause havoc with people’s lives”.
Responding to the criticism, Steve Reed, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Justice told Good Morning Britain today, there “should be limits to the amount of disruption they can make”.
He called on Patel to “stop whingeing and get on with her job”, insisting that while Labour does “believe in the right to protest.. we do not believe people should be able to cause disruption to other citizens who are going about their daily business.”
When asked about the inconvenience caused, a Just Stop Oil activist told Morning Wire: “If you’re someone who is feeling this disruption, and wants to know how it can stopped, it stops when Boris Johnson or his government makes a statement to stop all new licences and consents for new oil in order to save the lives of billions of people”.