Of region underwater by end of the century Insulate Britain Retired vicar, 79, arrested in roads demonstrations
A79-YEAR-OLD Bristol vicar was among several activists arrested after Insulate Britain launched new demonstrations near London, Birmingham and Manchester yesterday morning.
The Reverend Sue Parfitt, 79, a retired family therapist from Bristol, was one of 60 demonstrators who descended on junction 23 of the M25, junction 6 of the M56 in Manchester and the A4400 in Birmingham.
The London and Manchester roads are part of the ‘strategic road network’ and covered by a super injunction granted to National Highways last week.
Around 20 demonstrators arrived at the M25 but were stopped by police from getting into the road at about 8am.
Six sat on the pavement with a banner, and some glued themselves to the ground.
Another two managed to glue themselves to one lane of the carriageway on a quiet part of the roundabout.
A group of officers began lifting activists from the pavement and putting them in the back of a van.
More than a dozen officers and seven police vehicles were at the scene.
Some passers-by shouted expletives at the protesters while other beeped their horns.
Jess, 25, who had glued her hand to the road, said: “Before we started doing this no one was talking about insulation, nobody cared about it, nobody knew it was an issue, and now it’s been in the newspapers and it’s been all over people’s dinner table conversations for the last six weeks.
“They say ‘we agree with your cause but not the tactics,’ but at the end of the day they only know about our cause because of our tactics.”
Nine demonstrators have received committal papers in relation to an injunction granted to National Highways to curb activist roadblocks, an Insulate Britain spokesperson confirmed.
Those who break the injunctions could be found in contempt of court and face a maximum penalty of two years in prison or an unlimited fine.
Diana Warner, 62, a retired GP, said: “One of the important reasons for coming out today was to say we’re all together. It’s not just nine.”
Activists have blocked roads on 18 days since September 13, causing misery for drivers stuck in long queues of traffic.
Ms Parfitt was ordered to pay more than £1,500 earlier this year after she was found guilty of obstruction when she sat in a camping chair at the main entrance to Britain’s largest military site at Abbey Wood.
She tried and failed to persuade a district judge that her actions were lawful under human rights legislation, because she was highlighting the impending extinction of the entire human race.
The retired vicar, from Westburyon-Trym, broke down in court as she described the death and destruction that was already taking place as a result of man-made climate change, and implored district judge Lynne Matthews to “make a statement” about “the horror of climate change and what’s going to happen” by finding her not guilty.
A Hertfordshire Police spokesperson said yesterday: “Police were called at 7.45am today (Tuesday 2 November) to reports of protesters near junction 23 (Bignells Corner) of the M25.
“Police also received reports of protesters near the A1081 St Albans Road at around 8.20am. Officers are on the scene and partial road closures have been put in place. Several people have been arrested.”
So far, 161 people have been involved in the roadblock campaign and there have been 770 arrests, excluding Tuesday’s action.