Pumps run dry as eco mob block three more oil terminals: Petrol stations are forced to close while 80 activists block depots and lock themselves to pipework on TENTH day of mayhem
- Climate change activists Just Stop Oil also blocking three oil terminals in UK
- Reports of dry petrol pumps on going as eco zealots push for climate action
- 40 are at Grays Terminal, Thurrock and 40 at Buncefield terminal, Hertfordshire
- They have constructed a tunnel underneath BP Kingsbury in Warwickshire
- Extinction Rebellion also promises rebellion in London, kicking off in Hyde Park
Pumps are running dry after eco mobs have blocked three more oil terminals as petrol stations have been forced to close while 80 activists block depots and lock themselves to pipework on the tenth day of mayhem.
Causing more havoc for motorists, climate change activists Just Stop Oil started blocking three oil terminals in Hertfordshire, Essex and Warwickshire today.
At the BP Kingsbury Terminal the group dug a tunnel and are holed up, trying to prevent themselves getting arrested by police while 80 have swarmed and locked themselves in at the Buncefield and Grays terminals.
There have been continued reports of dry petrol pumps in certain areas after the groups disrupted supplies with the majority of filling stations in Cambridgeshire either closed or had long queues on Sunday morning as people tried to fill up.
The mass protests have reportedly seen over 800 arrests across the country and put a ‘real strain’ on local police services.
Extinction Rebellion have also promised two weeks of rebellion in London as they want to bring carnage to the capital and create more roadblocks than ever.
Kicking off their demonstration in Hyde Park, XR has also started blocking off major roads nearby. It promises its civil resistance and full disobedience will be felt across the city from midday.
And at 6:30am, the Grays Inter Terminal in Thurrock was swarmed by 40 people who climbed the loading bay pipework and locked themselves in (pictured)
The BP Petrol station in Ely, Cambridgeshire, which closed on Sunday morning after it ran out of fuel
This picture shows the queues at the Tesco Petrol station in Ely on Sunday morning
Kicking off their demonstration in Hyde Park, Extinction Rebellion has also started blocking off major roads nearby
Activists from Extinction Rebellion demonstrate at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, central London today
Overnight, Just Stop Oil supporters claim they dug a tunnel by concealing its efforts with a caravan under a key tanker route to the BP Kingsbury Terminal in Warwickshire.
Despite a number of police arrests, Just Oil claim, five people remain inside the caravan this morning working on the tunnel.
Reverend Tim Hughes, 71 a retired priest from Swindon, who is with the tunnellers, said: ‘I’m here because our government is useless, they make a lot of noise but they are doing nothing.
‘As a priest I have a duty of care for people, and also for creation.
‘What I’m doing here, with everyone in this caravan, is what our government should be doing – that is trying to protect our families and our loved ones from the appalling future that stands before us.
‘I hope we can continue what we’re doing and stop the flow of oil, if the government won’t.’
At around 2:30am today, 40 people approached the gates of the Buncefield oil terminal in Hertfordshire and locked on, blocking the entrance.
And at 6:30am, the Grays Inter Terminal in Thurrock was swarmed by 40 people who climbed the loading bay pipework and locked themselves in.
Essex police – who have made 338 arrests in seven days – say they are currently dealing with 26 people at the site and say other sites are operational.
Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin said: ‘We cannot stand by while criminal acts are being committed, and lives are being put at risk, in the name of protest.
‘Today’s protest is exceptionally dangerous due to where the protestors have located themselves within the site.’
The BP station in Ely, Cambridgeshire was closed and the Tesco petrol station also in Ely had long queues before they finally ran out on Sunday morning.
Extinction Rebellion promises its civil resistance and full disobedience will be felt across the city from midday.
The climate change activists have promised two weeks of rebellion in London as they want to bring carnage to the capital and to create more roadblocks than ever.
Earlier in the week, the action has cost Essex police £1m, a senior officer has said.
He called on fuel firms to bring in private security while forecourts start to close after running dry.
Deputy Chief Constable Andy Prophet said Essex Police is working closely with fuel distribution companies and strongly encouraging them to reinforce their security plans at each site.
He said the ‘commitment’ of officers ‘has allowed us to maintain a 24/7 presence in the area throughout the last week’.
‘This has not eliminated the disruption but has kept it to a minimum,’ he said. ‘Fuel transportation has continued and there is no need for any panic buying.
‘This has put a real strain on the force.
‘One of the things I’m focused on is what more the fuel companies can do to protect their infrastructure, perhaps using private security.
‘If those measures are put in place, policing can deal with these incidents quicker and further reduce the disruption being caused.
‘We know the people of Essex would prefer officers to be able to focus on the job of stopping crime and arresting criminals and to be perfectly honest, so do I.
‘To be clear, we are not in any way anti-protest; there is a right to protest but there is no right to commit crime.’
Since April 1, the coalition of activists have attempted to cause havoc in major UK cities and at vital infrastructure to demand the Government stops new oil and gas projects. Pictured: Activists are removed from an Asda fuel tanker at the Navigator oil storage terminal in Thurrock, Essex on Wednesday
The eco protesters have been using tactics including attaching themselves to fuel tankers with glue and bike locks. Pictured: People block a road leading to the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire on April 5, with one gluing their hand to the tarmac
Activists from the Just Stop Oil environmental group attempt to block traffic in Thurrock on Wedneday morning
It is expected that this morning’s actions will continue to significantly impact on fuel availability at petrol pumps across the South East and the Midlands.
Drivers in Cornwall, Newport Wales, Essex and Hertfordshire are having difficulties filling up their tanks today.
Thousands of Extinction Rebellion protesters including an Olympic gold medallist staged a sit-down protest in Oxford Street and Regent Street, yesterday, blocking traffic in the heart of London’s shopping district to call for no new investment in fossil fuels.
The eco-protestors sat down across Oxford Circus and the famous high streets it connects, chanting ‘save our planet’ and ‘whose streets, our streets’.
Extinction Rebellion climate activists staging a sit-down protest yesterday which has brought Regent Street and Oxford Street to a standstill
Climate activists from Extinction Rebellion carry placards and a banner reading ‘We will not be bystanders’ as they take part in a demonstration in London yesterday
Canoeist Etienne Stott (pictured outside the city of London Magistrates’ Court in January 2020), who won the slalom event with Tim Baillie at the London 2012 Olympic Games, was convicted of a public order offence after Extinction Rebellion protests in 2019, when he was arrested on Waterloo Bridge with other demonstrators after they refused to comply with conditions imposed by police
Extinction Rebellion climate protesters sit in the road at Oxford Circus during a sit-down demonstration. They have recently staged several protests at oil terminals and refineries across Britain, holding a large demonstration at one facility near Heathrow Airport
They have pledged that ‘our disruption will not stop until the fossil fuel economy comes to an end,’ according to the Extinction Rebellion website
Thousands of activists gathered at Speakers’ Corner at Hyde Park on Saturday morning before marching into the centre of the city
Thousands supporters of the protest group Extinction Rebellion are rallying for the start of the group’s latest campaign in central London which they promise will ‘grind the capital to a halt’ over the coming week
Climate activists from Extinction Rebellion carry flags and placards as they march through London, bringing the city to a standstill
Extinction Rebellion members stage a protest against fossil fuel usage blocking Oxford Circus Square traffic in London yesterday
The eco-protestors sat down across Oxford Circus and the famous high streets it connects, chanting ‘save our planet’ and ‘whose streets, our streets’
Extinction Rebellion billed today’s protest as part of ‘the final push in the plan to end fossil fuels’.
On their website, the group said: ‘Come to London from April 9 to April 17 and be ready to continue in civil resistance on at least the following three weekends.
‘This is a crucial moment. Our reliance on fossil fuels is funding wars, driving the cost of living scandal and leading to climate breakdown. This is why we are demanding an immediate end to all new fossil fuel investments.’
The group have said similar action to block ‘areas of the city for as long as possible’ is planned every day for a week or more.
They have pledged that ‘our disruption will not stop until the fossil fuel economy comes to an end, ‘ according to the Extinction Rebellion website.
On Friday, two protesters from the climate movement shut down Tower Bridge by abseiling off the sides of the London landmark and unfurling a huge banner that read: ‘End fossil fuels now.’
The bridge, a main traffic artery across the Thames, was closed to vehicles, causing long queues
Stott is an outspoken supporter of Extinction Rebellion and is no stranger to its demonstrations.
He chained himself to a boat with fellow British Olympian Laura Baldwin to blockade the entrance to ExxonMobil’s Fawley oil terminal in Hampshire last October.
He was convicted of a public order offence after Extinction Rebellion protests in 2019, when he was arrested on Waterloo Bridge with other demonstrators after they refused to comply with conditions imposed by police.
Stott, who retired from canoeing in 2016, was awarded an MBE for services to the sport in 2013.
At Trafalgar Square, the Extinction Rebellion protesters again sat on the road, this time on the edge of Whitehall, and stopped traffic.
A band of drummers played in the background near the base of Nelson’s Column as tourists and passers-by looked on.
Cars were seen turning around and moving away as motorists realised this route on their journey would mean delays.
Mechanical engineer Verel Rodrigues, 27, of Bristol, told the PA news agency: ‘We are currently in a dire situation and we are appealing to the government to stop investing in fossil fuels.
‘We have no choice. We are sorry to be causing this inconvenience but we don’t have any other choice.
‘If an alarm is ringing because your house is on fire, you don’t get p***ed off at the fire alarm. It is trying to save you and we are trying to raise the alarm of what is about to come.’
The Metropolitan Police said yesterday protesters were disrupting traffic on Oxford Street and Regent Street.
The force tweeted: ‘A number of protesters in Oxford St. & Regent St. are sitting in the road, blocking traffic in both directions. Traffic diversions are being put in place.’
A member of the public who wanted only to be named as Steve C, 50, of Ealing, west London, said Extinction Rebellion’s tactics have been ‘obsessive’.
‘The tactics have given the Conservative party an excuse to reduce and remove all of our rights to protest.
‘They have daily, repeatedly, blocked roads, whether it is small or large numbers. They have stopped people from taking their kids to school, they have stopped people from getting to work and to hospital appointments. It is just unacceptable’.
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