The Met Police has addressed accusations that it sided with “the workshy over the workers” during its handling of the Just Stop Oil protest on Blackfriars Bridge.
Some social media users have slammed the force over footage appearing to show officers handcuffing a man who pushed protestors out of the way on Tuesday morning (May 23).
In a statement, the Met has responded to the criticism by saying policing protests “is not straightforward” because of the need to balance “complex human rights and legal considerations”.
“We must recognise that short clips of individual incidents don’t tell the whole story,” it added.
The Met added that, since late April, 11,000 officer shifts had been lost to policing the protests, costing more than £3.5 million.
Just Stop Oil protestors unleash ‘slow march’ strategy on three London bridges
Officers had been policing the environmental group’s ‘slow march’ along London, Blackfriars and Tower Bridge, which saw 45 activists disrupt traffic in a call to halt all new UK fossil fuel projects.
The protestors, which started marching at 8am, were largely removed by 8.45am, with traffic resuming.
Footage shared widely across social media appeared to show police handcuffing a frustrated motorist who’d tried to push protestors out of the way.
GB News presenter Martin Daubney took to Twitter, saying: “Finally – and predictably- a working class motorist snaps at a Just Stop Oil blockade, shoving a protestor to the ground
“On cue, with total predictability, police arrest the worker & protect the protestors. The police back the workshy over the workers!”
Another Twitter user wrote: “Switch just stop oil jackets for football shirts and those batons come out within seconds and there dragged off the streets into the back of police vans. No questions asked.”
Justifying the police response, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: “The policing of protest is not straightforward. Officers are constantly required to balance the rights of those protesting with the rights of those who are impacted by the protest.
Just Stop Oil protesters deface the London Bridge News UK building
“We are assessing these situations in real time balancing complex human rights and legal considerations. Londoners can be assured that we are taking these issues seriously and it is clear from the number of times conditions have been imposed and arrests made, that there is no right to seriously disrupt others.
“I know that a widely shared video of a member of the public confronting protestors on 23 May has reignited the strongly held public feelings about this protest tactic and how we are responding to it.
“But we must recognise that short clips of individual incidents don’t tell the whole story of a much larger policing operation which, as we have shown, is ensuring that our response times are effective and that our interventions are seeing roads cleared with minimal delays.”
On April 24, Just Stop Oil unleashed its new ‘slow marching’ tactic which replaces locking-on – which saw protestors glue themselves to roads.
This is seen as a way of circumventing new stringent laws introduced under the government’s new Public Order Act.
Since April 24, the Met Police said 11,000 officer shifts had been lost to policing the protests at a cost of more than £3.5 million.
There have been more Just Stop Oil protests across London, including in Moorgate and Westminster today (Wednesday, March 24).