Just Stop Oil eco-zealots brought traffic in central London to a standstill on Saturday as they marched in support of two activists recently jailed for scaling the Dartford Crossing bridge and causing 40 hours of gridlock, describing them as ‘political prisoners’.
Hundreds of supporters marched from Parliament Square to the Home Office over claims that a pair of climate protestors were ‘wrongly imprisoned for resisting the Government’s genocidal plans’ to license more than 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025.
Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 36, blocked one of the busiest stretches of road in the country during their climate protest on October 17 last year.
The pair hoisted a banner between two pillars of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent, and slept in hammocks in freezing temperatures overnight.
The road beneath was closed by police for fears over their safety, causing traffic chaos. They were eventually arrested after coming down the following day.
Just Stop Oil eco-zealots brought traffic in central London to a standstill on Saturday as they marched in support of Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 36, who were jailed for scaling the Dartford Crossing bridge and causing 40 hours of gridlock
Hundreds of supporters attended the rally and march from Parliament Square to the Home Office in central London on Saturday afternoon
Climate activists say the pair were ‘wrongly imprisoned for resisting the Government’s genocidal plans’ to license more than 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025
Today’s rally comes just days after Suella Braverman unveiled new measures to tackle disruptive ‘slow marching’ tactics
The protestors described the sentencing of Trowland and Decker, who were jailed for three years, and two years and seven months respectively for public nuisance, as ‘draconian’
Protestors today vowed not to stop until ‘the genocidal government ends new oil and gas’
In addition to Trowland and Decker, the group added it would march in support of five Insulate Britain activists currently serving jail sentences for public nuisance
The group also marched in support of Insulate Britain activists serving jail sentences, including Reverend Mark Coleman, 63, a retired vicar from Rochdale, who was sentenced to five weeks for blocking a road in Bishopsgate in the City of London last October
The march took place just days after Suella Braverman announced new measures against ‘slow marching’ tactics, which will be brought in by a statutory instrument
The Public Order Bill announced by Braverman permits the police to clear the roads of slow marching protesters ‘who are hell-bent on causing chaos across the UK’
A Just Stop Oil supporter wears a top showing the pictures of jailed activists Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland
Hundreds of supporters marched through Westminster on Saturday afternoon calling for Decker and Trowland to be freed from prison
Trowland and Decker were jailed for three years, and two years and seven months respectively at Southend Crown Court earlier this month, after being found guilty of causing a public nuisance.
At the time of their record sentencing for the climate group, judge Shane Collery KC said locking the pair up would hopefully deter anyone else from taking part in similar demonstrations.
‘You have to be punished for the chaos you caused and to deter others from copying you,’ he said.
Just Stop Oil called the judgment ‘draconian’ in a press statement released on Saturday.
In addition to Trowland and Decker, the group added it would march in support of five Insulate Britain activists currently serving jail sentences for public nuisance.
They include Reverend Mark Coleman, 63, a retired vicar from Rochdale, who was sentenced on Thursday to five weeks in prison for blocking a road in Bishopsgate in the City of London last October.
Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker scaled a bridge over the Dartford Crossing in October last year
Morgan Trowland, pictured here on the bridge, was jailed for three years at Southend Crown Court yesterday
Marcus Decker, pictured here in a hammock on the bridge, was jailed for two years and seven months for his role in the protest
The pair’s actions caused more than a day of gridlock (pictured) as police were forced to divert traffic through the Dartford Tunnel as they closed the road on the bridge
Today’s rally comes just days after Suella Braverman unveiled new measures to tackle disruptive ‘slow marching’ tactics.
New laws – expected to be in place within weeks – will allow police to cart off demonstrators who block the roads.
The key measures had to be dropped from the Public Order Bill, which completed its passage through Parliament this week, after being blocked by Labour and other opposition peers.
Now the Home Secretary is introducing almost identical legal changes by an alternative route, known as a statutory instrument, which can be implemented more quickly.
Announcing the new measures, Braverman said: ‘Selfish, disruptive protesters are wreaking havoc in people’s everyday lives across the country and this must be brought to a stop.
‘This is why we are bringing forward this new law to clearly define serious disruption as requested by police chiefs.
‘Not only will the Public Order Bill introduce new criminal offences for causing serious disruption, this new legislation permits the police to clear the roads of slow marching protesters who are hell-bent on causing chaos across the UK.’
Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said they are ‘committed to responding quickly and effectively to activists who deliberately disrupt people’s lives’.
Ahead of today’s march, a Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: ‘Our criminal government has betrayed us all, they are taking us down a path to societal collapse and destroying the conditions that make human life possible.
‘At the same time they are engaged in an outright assault on migrants rights, workers rights, protest rights, human rights. We face policing at the whim of the Home Secretary, government by diktat and decree, and an increasingly hostile judiciary handing down disproportionately harsh sentences for peaceful protest.
‘Why are cowardly judges choosing to imprison people who stand up for life, rather than putting our criminal government on trial?
‘We march together today to show we will not be intimidated. We will not abandon our friends. We stand with Marcus and Morgan. Civil resistance is our only hope.
‘This is life or death, survival or collective suicide. We won’t stop until our genocidal government ends new oil and gas.’
Morgan Trowland (left) and Marcus Decker (right) climbed the bridge as part of a climate protest
The eco-stunt caused long queues with motorists stuck in traffic for hours and the road closed for over a day
Marcus Decker gave a thumbs up to photographers as he was taken away in a prison van
Morgan Trowland pictured being taken away after his sentencing at Southend Crown Court