Driver ‘faces off' with Just Stop Oil protesters on ‘last day of action'

Yahoo

26-04-2025

A vehicle appears to have been driven slowly towards Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters as hundreds took to London's streets on Saturday for what the group declared their "last day of action".
Hundreds of demonstrators, clad in the group's trademark orange vests, rallied through central London, occasionally blocking roads, including the Trafalgar Square roundabout.
In a march from St James' Park to Waterloo, it follows JSO's claimed victory regarding new oil and gas licenses, prompting the group to announce they were "hanging up the hi vis" after this final demonstration.
However, the day's events were marked by a confrontation captured on video by the PA news agency.
Footage appears to show a white minivan, carrying a child and at least one other passenger, slowly advancing towards a group of JSO protesters.
The protesters, some holding a JSO banner, can be seen with their hands raised, and one individual is heard shouting, "officer, I'm being pushed back."
The minivan appeared to edge forwards until the bonnet was pressing against them.
He then exited the vehicle and could be heard shouting 'what are you doing blocking the whole road up?' and saying to police 'what about my right to get home?' as a mass of people including press photographers gathered closely.
Film appears to capture the officers reminding the man that the disruption is temporary and that people had a right to protest.
Police seemed to successfully call for the crowd to move away from the vehicle.
Other similar incidents of drivers apparently becoming frustrated with people on the road were caught on camera.
Last month, JSO announced it would stop direct action after it had won its demand to end new oil and gas.
During Saturday's rally, Keir Lane, 59, from Northamptonshire, told the PA news agency: 'You learn the ropes, you learn your business, and you have to identify your strengths and your weaknesses and make changes in what you do.
'This is why JSO are hanging up the hi-vis vest.
'Effectively what we're saying is we are stopping one model of operating which is the disruptive action that we're known for, and that will then morph into other things… what happens with the Just Stop Oil name, again, I don't think that's that's decided'.
Asked if that action had become a weakness, he said: 'No, but you can't carry on doing the same thing time and time again'.
The group has drawn attention, criticism and jail terms for protests ranging from throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers and spray painting Charles Darwin's grave to climbing on gantries over the M25.
In its March statement announcing the end of direct action, it said: 'Just Stop Oil's initial demand to end new oil and gas is now Government policy, making us one of the most successful civil resistance campaigns in recent history.
'We've kept over 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the ground and the courts have ruled new oil and gas licences unlawful.'
The Labour Government has said it will not issue licences for new oil and gas exploration, while a series of recent court cases have halted fossil fuel projects including oil drilling in Surrey, a coal mine in Cumbria and the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields in the North Sea over climate pollution.
But Labour has distanced itself from Just Stop Oil, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer criticising its actions and saying protesters must face the full force of the law.
The Metropolitan Police have been approached for comment.