Six people have been arrested after climate change activists glued themselves to an oil tanker in London.
Extinction Rebellion protesters occupied the Shell oil tanker as it left a petrol station off Bayswater Road, in London, on Saturday morning.
Activists holding a banner which read: “End Fossil Fuels Now” surrounded the tanker, while Etienne Stott - an Olympic gold medal-winning canoeist - and Laura Baldwin, an Olympic sailor, glued themselves to the top of it.
Mr Stott, who was previously commended by a judge for his commitment to the climate change cause after he helped disrupt the journeys of 500,000 commuters, said he wanted to “disrupt the toxic fossil fuel industry that is destroying everything we hold dear”.
A video seen by The Telegraph also showed three people glued on to the wheels of the truck, while a banner with the words “End Fossil Filth” hung from the side of the vehicle.
A spokesman for Extinction Rebellion claimed the driver of the tanker was “not angry” at the latest demonstration against the Government’s use of fossil fuels.
“He gets it, he’s got quite a few kids and grandkids,” the spokesman added. “He’d like to get home, but he gets it.”
In a statement on Twitter, the Metropolitan Police said:
We attended Bayswater Road at approx. 0850 to deal with a number of protestors who had climbed on an oil tanker.
— Metropolitan Police Events (@MetPoliceEvents) April 16, 2022
We have made six arrests for vehicle interference.
The road is now open.
The “highly disruptive” action came at the end of 10 days of demonstrations in London by Extinction Rebellion. The group made an immediate demand for an end to all new fossil fuel investments.
Meanwhile, blockades at oil depots this week by Just Stop Oil have caused fuel shortages at petrol pumps across the UK.
Although the situation has improved over the past week, FairFuel UK said there were pockets in and around London, the south, Hampshire and south-east, East Anglia, Essex and Kent, where up to three out of 10 pumps have no fuel.
Diesel is in the shortest supply. Across the south of England, more than a fifth of stations have no diesel. This figure rises to almost a third in Greater London and Kent.
Howard Cox, founder of FairFuel, said: "We predict sporadic fuel supply in the Home Counties and the south, for the next few weeks, unless the police get tougher with the protesters.
"Grant Shapps and Priti Patel must take their heads out of the sand and up their game to ensure that the fuel supply chain is secure and well protected.”
