Climate activists from group Just Stop Oil have vowed to march from London’s Parliament Square every morning in the run-up to the King’s Coronation.
Protesters carried out a “slow march” from the site early on Tuesday - just a stone’s throw from Westminster Abbey, where the coronations of the King and Queen Consort are to be held on Saturday.
They were joined by the Met Police, which tweeted at 7.45am that officers were “engaging with protesters” and “will intervene if required to ensure minimal disruption to Londoners”.
The group has vowed to march from Parliament Square, by the Palace of Westminster, every weekday and Saturday until the government “abandons its dangerous attempt to licence over 100 new fossil fuel projects”.
Tuesday’s action comes after 91 Just Stop Oil supporters marched from four different locations in Lambeth and Westminster on Bank Holiday Monday, kicking off a second week of daily slow marches that brought disruption to the capital last week.
Previous days’ marches, which have concentrated on key roads in Westminster and Lambeth, prompted police to issue Public Order Act (S12) notices to remove supporters from the roads.
Just Stop Oil protesters are currently in #Parliament Square.
— Metropolitan Police Events (@MetPoliceEvents) May 2, 2023
Officers are swiftly on scene, engaging with protesters and will intervene if required to ensure minimal disruption to Londoners.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman is issuing new legislation aimed at cracking down on such protests.
On her Public Order Bill, which will pass into law if approved by the House of Lords on Wednesday, Ms Braverman said: “Selfish, disruptive protesters are wreaking havoc in people’s everyday lives across the country and this must be brought to a stop.
“Not only will the Public Order Bill introduce new criminal offences for causing serious disruption, this new legislation permits the police to clear the roads of slow-marching protesters who are hell-bent on causing chaos across the UK.”
Yep that's right. 7am. Every weekday. Parliament Square. Until this government abandons its dangerous attempt to licence over 100 new fossil fuel projects.
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) May 1, 2023
See you there. #JustStopOilhttps://t.co/L7s8KI5Wve
But Just Stop Oil say they will not be stopped by the new legislation. A spokesperson said: “People marching to protect their rights, lives and livelihoods is a time honoured method of resistance. We are doing what the Suffragettes did and what the Civil Rights movements did.
“We won’t be deterred by changes to protest laws or how strongly the police enforce those laws.”
