Just stop oil: Police break up row between furious driver and supporter

Authorities appeared to be aware of Just Stop Oil's plans in advance, as three marked police vehicles lay in wait at the group's pre-march location in a nearby park. But rather than foil the blockade, which lasted around 90 minutes, the police simply followed them as they walked to the nearby Whitechapel Road, where further reinforcements then arrived to escort the kilometre-long traffic jam. It was a repeat of the scenes on Monday, when police accompanied the eco group's huddle in Southwark, south London, before letting them block three lanes of traffic on the A2. Just Stop Oil is wreaking havoc in the run up to Christmas on the capital's roads. In contrast to the mass arrests of earlier protests, the group is now exploiting a legal loophole that leaves the police powerless as long as the activists keep moving and it is not classed as "serious disruption". However, ministers are planning to force officers to act over the new tactic, after police chiefs were grilled in Downing Street last week. Read the full article here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/08/just-stop-oil-police-tell-furious-pedestrian-who-threw-orange/ Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscribe/digitalsub/3for1/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_pvid_conversion-subscription_editorial-iniative_03-22_EGW-13_organic_youtube Get the latest headlines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.