Don’t encourage them! Minister says eco zealots’ stunts DO work
AN ENVIRONMENT minister said disruptive protest groups such as Extinction Rebellion are ‘absolutely right’ and the pressure they exert ‘does work’.
Lord Goldsmith said while they are ‘annoying’, their road blockages and property damage are productive.
The Conservative peer warned this week the Tories would be ‘digging our electoral grave’ if the next prime minister abandoned the party’s net zero commitments.
‘The principle is absolutely right,’ Lord Goldsmith told BBC Radio 4. ‘There is a real anxiety that we are heading towards a cliff and we’re not doing enough. And that’s true, we’re not. That kind of pressure... may be annoying but it works.’ Earlier this year his brother Ben made similar comments and faced calls to resign from his position as non-executive board member at Defra.
Yesterday traffic jams built up on the M5 during a ‘goslow’ protest against high fuel prices organised by Fuel Price Stand Against Tax. About ten vehicles drove at 20mph and affected the M5 in Somerset and routes around Bristol.