This is the moment when a man furious at Insulate Britain’s latest protest squirted ink on the faces of the ecomob.
This extraordinary footage was captured as the group blocked the A40 at North Acton, West London, causing massive tailbacks today.
The man marched along a line if sitting protesters, and squirted them with ink.
He replied, “It’s ink.” If you do that, you’re getting inked.
Christian, a retired doctor of 77 years, was one of the protesters who was inked.
Christian stated that it wasn’t painful and it didn’t hurt. However, it was very unpleasant. It’s sad that this is necessary. I hate it. I’m a retired medical doctor who spent my entire life trying to help others. Now I have to do this because the government won’t solve the problem adequately. Terribly concerned.
It is not known who the ink sprayer was, and if he was a passerby or driver.
Online users praised him for his actions, while others criticised him and demanded that he use other methods to disrupt Insulate Britain.
Today, the campaigners split their action on two sides of London. One group sat on the A40 in North Acton while others blocked a major roundabout near the Dartford Crossing on M25 in Kent.
The Metropolitan Police in London arrested 17 people, while the Kent Police took 32. Insulate Britain claimed that the total number of arrests was 55.
The man walked alongside a line of protesters and squirted them with an intoxicating bottle.
It is not known who the ink sprayer was, and if he was a passerby or driver.
Both demonstrations began at 8am and ended around 2 hours later. The A40 was reopened at 10 a.m., while Dartford’s one lane was open at 10.30 a.m.
The protesters have caused chaos to motorways in the capital since mid September. There were 146 people involved in the campaign and 739 arrests so far. But no one has been arrested. After a landmark High Court decision, the activists were effectively barred from all major roads of England on Monday.
Police in Dartford held some drivers back this morning and warned them that they could be arrested for assaulting activists if they touch them. Sky News heard one angry motorist tell an officer, “I’ll get the truck down here and I will run over them, I promise, just saying.” Drag them out the f***ing way mate, will you?’
Another driver pulled out a set bagpipes and played them in protesters’ faces until police stopped him.
The man, who spoke in a Scottish accent said: “They are holding up fire trucks, ambulances. It’s disgraceful. You’re damaging your cause. What I was doing, obnoxiously bagpipe in my face, was what you were doing to all that traffic – you’re obnoxiously threatening people’s lives. You are actually damaging your cause, guys.
A second motorist tried to pick them up, but an officer said that he couldn’t think about it. The driver then said, “Get off the road, we have work to do.” We are trying earn money here. We’ve got people trying to get to school, we’ve got people going to school, get out the f***ing road.’ He then told the officer: “Get them out of the road, why aren’t you nicking their heads?” He then tells the officer to “get back in your vehicle”.
Today, another driver on A40 removed the banners and shouted: ‘Get off the road!’ He said, while being filmed by Greatest Hits Radio: “Who’s going help me move them, someone assist me?
One man on the A40 in West London tore ink over Christian, a 77 year-old retired doctor.
Retired doctor Christian, 77, is an Insulate Britain protester who had ink thrown at him by angry drivers on the A40 today
And a BBC reporter at the scene said: ‘Now the police are here, but have readily admitted they’re too short-staffed to move them off the road, so this disruption will probably last for at least a few hours here.’
Metropolitan Police announced that 17 people were arrested, including six who were glued to the road as drivers faced two-mile tailbacks at the A40.
A spokesperson said that 17 Insulate Britain activists were arrested for blocking the A40 junction/Gypsy Lane in North Acton. Police responded quickly to get roads reopened. Traffic is now flowing. We are grateful to motorists who have been patient.
Meanwhile, protestors at Dartford were unhappy with the speed at which the police arrived. One activist told the Guardian: “We’re back, Insulate Britain. We’re trying to block this road.”
‘Police arrived quickly and arrested us. I’m fine. It would have been nice if we had a bit more time, but we are here and we’re still doing it.
A Dartford teenager protestor was heard on Sky News saying, just before being pulled off the road by police officers: ‘I am 18, I’m afraid of all the violence that will ensue because of climate change.
Kent Police detained six people in Dartford, at a Hilton hotel carpark, before the protests began. Tony Hill and Amy Pritchard, both protesters, were also sat at Bishopsgate in London Monday.
Miss Pritchard claimed she was arrested 11 times since September 13th. She stated that: ‘The plan for us is we are being searched, and are about to get arrested. We were going to blockade the roundabout. We were prevented from entering the roundabout. The police have not arrested us or interviewed us.
“There has been a political decision to not deal with us, and we don’t want to block roads, so it is okay. We will continue until our demands have been met and we are not prevented from doing so. The legal consequences for each of us individually are more important than decarbonisation at the speed, scale and speed that is required.
And Mr Hill, a former police officer and soldier who is now a councillor, said: ‘I’m here through anger, fear and determination. Please forgive us for this disruption, but please also understand the reasons we are doing so. For the future of climate disaster, the disruption that we experience today will be nothing compared with what we get tomorrow.
Kent Police also detained 14 people on the A206, and 14 more by the M25. Around 40 activists descended upon Dartford, some of them gluing their hands to each other to delay their removal.
Insulate Britain taunted Kent Police with a statement: ‘Insulate Britain would prefer to congratulate Kent Police today though it must have been frustrating to have resources to intelligence gathering about people from Insulate Britain, when there could have been a prison sentence weeks ago.
The activists warned that disruption will continue. A spokesperson for Insulate Britain stated that they would return to the roads as soon as possible to continue their campaign of nonviolent civil resist until Boris Johnson takes over the job of protecting the citizens of this country. Insulate Britain is obliged to continue its campaign. We will not sit back and watch as the Government condemns the country to death.
Insulate Britain had asked drivers not to use M25 after they threatened to cause chaos on the motorway with a series road blockades. The environmental campaigners asked police to not arrest them. They also warned that their non-violent civil resistance would resume on the road at 7am today.
Insulate Britain, a branch of Extinction Rebellion said that motorists should still use the M25 at 20 mph if they want to minimize the risk of an accident.
Today’s action began an hour later than expected. It follows Monday’s chaos in Central London, when eco-zealots put many people to roadblocks, gluing their feet, faces and hands.
In response to protests, four court injunctions were issued. National Highways has recently secured a ban against activities that obstruct traffic on its 4,300 mile network of motorways in England.
This occurred in the wake of a Monday injunction granting authority to the Government-owned Agency, which prohibits Insulate Britain activists preventing traffic on any portion of the strategic road network.