Just Stop Oil Protestors Block A4 at Barons Court


Eastbound traffic jams in morning rush hour reach back to Chiswick


The protestors blocking traffic by Gliddon Road. Picture: Just Stop Oil

The A4 was closed eastbound into London this Tuesday morning (18 October) following a protest by Just Stop Oil.

Thirty supporters of the group blocked the A4 on Talgarth Road near Barons Court tube station.

Starting at 7.30am, they have sat in a line with protest banners by a pedestrian crossing in the east bound carriageway.

Some glued themselves to the tarmac and others used lock ons.

The protest resulted in congestion back to Warwick Road westbound and queues eastbound reached passed Hammersmith Flyover to Sutton Court Road in Chiswick. Transport for London then closed the A4 eastbound at the Hogarth Roundabout.

They were protesting against permission being given to new oil and gas projects by the government. The government says that it has increased the licensing of new fossil fuel schemes to reduce dependence on supplies from countries such as Russia.

The Met Police says officers were on the scene by 7.45am and arrested 26 people on suspicion of wilful obstruction of the highway with specialist officers ungluing those that had stuck themselves to the road. Those arrested were taken into custody at a south London police station and the road was reopened at around 9.30am.

Lilah McKim, 21, a student from Brighton said, “It is said that protesting is like begging the powers that be to dig a well. Direct action is digging the well and daring them to stop you. The International Energy Agency said last year that if we want any chance of avoiding the worst effects of the climate emergency we can have no new oil. Yet the government is planning to grant over 100 new fossil-fuel licences. If the government doesn’t stop new oil, we will.”

An emergency services vehicle tries to navigate through the resulting traffic jams
An emergency services vehicle tries to navigate through the resulting traffic jams

The action follows over two weeks of continuous civil resistance by supporters of Just Stop Oil during which the police have made over 470 arrests. On Monday, there were 12 arrests of Just Stop Oil supporters, who blocked Victoria Road and sprayed soup over a government building. Since the campaign began on 1 April , Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested over 1,750 times, with 5 supporters currently in prison.

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October 18, 2022