Just Stop Oil M25 protest sees three arrested by Essex Police

Essex Police says two people – a man and a woman – were arrested at junction 30 as they attempted to climb a gantry and a third person had locked himself onto a gantry at junction 27.

The road is now open and the force has released images showing the arrests and specially trained officers dealing with the activists.

Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: “We quickly dealt with three incidents on the Essex stretch of the M25 this morning and swiftly arrested three people.

“They are now in custody being questioned on suspicion of road traffic offences.

“We have an appropriate 24-hour policing plan in place to deal with incidents such as this which means we can respond quickly to minimise and indeed stop any disruption to road users.

“Our priority, as it has always been, is to keep our county moving and we do that safely and responsibly.

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“We are not anti-protest – this is rightly enshrined in law – but we will not tolerate dangerous acts which put lives at risk and we will always respond and take decisive action.

“I know those of you who have been affected this morning will be frustrated by the disruption and I want to thank you for your patience and understanding.”