Boris: I’ll lock up the ‘reckless and selfish’ protesters blocking roads

BORIS Johnson is to rush through laws to stop protesters from blocking motorways, as he declares his determination to defend the interests of the ‘law-abiding majority’.

Under the planned new legislation, activists who bring vital transport arteries to a standstill will face up to six months in prison or unlimited fines. The move follows complaints from the police that they have lacked sufficient powers to stop eco-protesters from the Insulate Britain group from bringing some of the country’s arterial roads such as the M25, M1 and M4 to a standstill.

Some drivers have been stranded in gridlock while taking relatives to hospital or transporting vital supplies.

The Prime Minister said last night: ‘This Government will always stand on the side of the law-abiding majority and ensure the toughest penalties possible for criminals who deliberately bring major roads to a standstill. We will give the police the powers they need to stop their reckless and selfish behaviour.’

Mr Johnson outlined his hardline stance as he arrived at the Tory Party conference in Manchester last night against the backdrop of the separate road chaos caused by the fuel crisis, which has led to a critical shortage of petrol in London and the South East.

With almost 200 troops prepared to swing into action to help ease the situation from tomorrow, the Petrol Retailers Association reported a ‘distinct improvement’ in the situation across much of the country due to drivers’ ‘restraint’

The Cabinet Office has also launched a leak inquiry into how selective briefings from a meeting about fuel supplies found their way to ITV News, stoking the fuel crisis, as the MoS revealed last week.

The Government has accused the Road Haulage Association of doing so to force Ministers to let in more lower paid foreign workers, which the RHA has flatly denied.

Home Secretary Priti Patel will this week unveil the protests crackdown by amending the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

She said: ‘We will not tolerate guerrilla tactics that obstruct people going about their dayto-day business. We will increase the maximum penalty for disrupting a motorway to an unlimited fine or up to six months in prison – or both.

‘The Conservative Party will always back the law-abiding, hard-working majority.’