Pro-Brexit protester brings Eurostar trains to a standstill with roof demo
THOUSANDS of Eurostar passengers endured misery yesterday after a proBrexit protester with a St George’s flag clambered on to a roof covering tracks near St Pancras Station in London.
The incident came as police chiefs are said to be increasingly ‘uneasy’ about the potential for protests and demonstrations over the Brexit deadlock.
The demonstration on the covered bridge, used by Eurostar trains, began shortly before 7pm on Friday and forced power to the overhead lines to be switched off, leaving trains unable to enter or depart from the station.
Eurostar, which runs trains between London, Paris and Brussels, cancelled 13 services, disrupting the journeys of up to 9,700 passengers. A group of 40 American tourists from Colorado who had been due to catch a train to Paris at 7.55am yesterday were stranded in London until 6pm after their train was cancelled.
Kristen Nabers, 41, and Payson Schwin, 38, from Georgia, USA, were due to visit the French capital for a five-day trip with their two children.
Ms Nabers said: ‘We’re not opposed to people’s right to protest, but when I’ve protested, I’ve made sure not to disrupt anyone.’
Eurostar services resumed at 11am yesterday but delays to London-bound trains continued throughout the day. A 44-year-old man was arrested yesterday morning for trespass and obstruction of the railway.
Small groups of protesters gathered in Central London again yesterday, stopping traffic on Westminster Bridge.
Chris Hobbs, a retired Metropolitan Police special branch officer, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s likely that we will see more, probably fairly isolated, outbreaks of civil disobedience. Police generally feel uneasy over the whole Brexit issue.’
Earlier this month, lorry drivers caused a five-mile tailback on the A30 in Cornwall after driving in a so-called ‘Brexit blockade’.