Activists turned loose after breach of M25 court order

POLICE have freed all 53 people arrested when climate protesters defied a High Court order to block the M25 for a sixth time in recent days.

The suspects have been released under investigation despite the legal injunction that allows activists to be jailed for contempt of court.

Home secretary Priti Patel (pictured) had warned: ‘We will not tolerate lives being put at risk. Those who continue to do so risk imprisonment.’

The protesters stopped traffic for almost three hours near junction 14, by Heathrow, on Monday.

Their group Insulate Britain has blocked the motorway six times in just over two weeks and caused disruption on the A1 and A20 near the Port of Dover.

Members can also face hefty fines and asset seizures for breaking the injunction – but have vowed they will not back down.

In an open letter to Ms Patel (inset), Insulate Britain wrote: ‘You can throw as many injunctions at us as you like, but we are going nowhere. You can raid our savings. You can confiscate our property. You can deny us our liberty and put us behind bars. ‘But shooting the messenger can never destroy the message: that this country is going to hell unless you take emergency action to stop putting carbon into the air.’

Monday’s protest saw campaigners glue themselves together and to the carriageway, and spray blue paint.

The group’s tactics have come under fire amid claims they disrupted people seeking medical treatment.

An M25 protest last week was blamed for a multi-vehicle crash that led to a woman being airlifted to hospital.