The decision on whether a protest is considered illegal depends on whether it causes “serious disturbance”.
This assessment is carried out by various organisations, including the Metropolitan Police, the city council, Transport for London and the emergency services.
In October, that decision was made almost as soon as a protester sat down to block a street, but the moving barricade appears to be buying the group more time.
Pedestrians started yelling at the police not to arrest members of the group.
Asked by a pedestrian why he wasn’t stopping the protesters, a third police officer said: “They’re not blocking the freeway, they’re moving. If this group stops, that’s a different thing, but they’re moving.”
A fourth police officer told The Telegraph: “By moving, you’re just in a protest, a march, effectively. Unless they’re stopping, they’re not breaking the law. The problem is that traffic can pass when it presents the opportunity … it’s a proper gray area.”
A spokesman for the Met Police said: “Everyone has the right to protest, but they do not have the right to commit crimes while doing so, or to disproportionately affect others.
“We are alert to new tactics by Just Stop Oil and will act quickly to intervene when serious disruptions are occurring.
“During yesterday’s small event, there was a small disruption to already very slow traffic.
“No arrests were made.
“We will continue to monitor this closely and develop our response to effectively balance people’s rights and keep London moving.”
According to the legislation, obstruction of the highway occurs if a person, without authority or legitimate excuse, in any way willfully obstructs the free passage of a highway.
The law provides that an officer may arrest without a warrant any person who he believes is committing an offense against this section.
Over the weekend, Commander Karen Findlay said: “When activists cross the line into criminality, the Met will provide a proportionate police response.
“We will arrive quickly, deal with the situation effectively, remove and arrest the activists as appropriate and return to normal as soon as possible.”
But officers were again criticized for not taking swift action, and police were seen walking alongside activists on the Strand.
A spokesman for the Met Police said: “Everyone has the right to protest, but they do not have the right to commit crimes while doing so, or to disproportionately affect others.
“We are alert to new tactics by Just Stop Oil and will act quickly to intervene when serious disruptions are occurring.
“During yesterday’s small event, there was a small disruption to already very slow traffic.
“No arrests were made.
“We will continue to monitor this closely and develop our response to effectively balance people’s rights and keep London moving.”
So what exactly constitutes a “serious disturbance”?
A spokesman for Transport for London said: “We regularly update the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and other partner organizations on the conditions of our road network and the severity of disruption caused by protests or other events.
“The MPS then determines the most appropriate course of action.
“The safety of everyone using our network and ensuring that the network continues to operate effectively remain our key priorities.”
TfL uses defined parameters to measure levels of disruption.
These are:
- Minimum: The severity of traffic congestion should be assigned as minimum congestion when traffic is very light at a location, with no traffic queues and no noticeable inconvenience to the road user.
- Moderate: Traffic is moving, with some traffic queues that are unusual for the time of day at the location; and/or there are minor noticeable inconveniences caused by road closures.
- Severe: There is traffic congestion that is unusual for the time of day at the location or in an area, and traffic has stopped for less than five minutes, but longer than the red signal time shown in traffic signals operating on the road; and/or there are longer traffic queues than usual due to the time of day and incidents that cause, in a short space of time, inconvenience to road users.
- Severe: There is unusual traffic congestion for the time of day at the location or in an area, and traffic has been stopped for more than five minutes; and/or traffic queues longer than normal for the time of day, (more than for serious congestion) and also incidents that cause, in a short space of time, significant inconvenience to road users.
The effect of disruptions on bus services is another key part of TfL’s assessments
Just Stop Oil sees the cutting of the artworks as a threat to escalate the protests
Just Stop Oil campaigners are considering cutting the artwork as the group threatens to ramp up its climate protests.
Green campaigners began their third wave of disruption on Monday, slowly walking the streets of London to slow rush-hour traffic, and told The Telegraph they will be out in force again on Wednesday.