Just Stop Oil has been roundly condemned for costing taxpayers nearly £20million in just over a year to police as protesters repeatedly tried to bring London to a standstill.
Latest figures released by the Metropolitan Police show that the force spent more than £3.8million responding to the group’s disruptive protests over a five-week period in October and November.
Officers made a total of 657 arrests during that time, which the Met believes is the highest number of arrests ever made in response to mass unlawful disruption.
But the force has also revealed that the total cost of policing Just Stop Oil protests since October 2022 is £19.9million.
Commander Kyle Gordon, who oversaw the policing operation, said: “Community policing is at the forefront of the Met’s priorities and it is tough to see resources being taken away from our boroughs by Just Stop Oil.
“These officers should be responding to local communities and dealing with local issues instead of being taken away to police Just Stop Oil protests. Their time could be far better spent tackling issues in our communities and keeping them safe.
“We understand that in a democratic society, there is a strong presumption in favour of the right to protest, but we also have to consider the rights of those who are impacted by JSO’s actions.
“While there is a right to protest and have your voice heard, there is no right to cause sustained serious disruption.
“It is Londoners who ultimately face the brunt and bill for this action and we understand the frustration of Londoners who are caught up in the disruption, which as we know from previous campaigns impacts on everything from a school run or commute to work through to issues such as attending hospital appointments.”
The latest figures show that 10,500 officer shifts were used to police the protests, which could have been spent on the beat in communities. On one occasion, it made 79 arrests in 20 minutes to clear Whitehall.
Susan Hall, the Tory candidate for London mayor and the Conservatives’ crime spokesman at the London Assembly, said: “Just Stop Oil are a menace, whose disruptive tactics Sadiq Khan has tolerated for far too long.
“Time and time again they cause endless disruption to people’s lives, drag police officers away from stopping crime, and then have the cheek to expect the taxpayer to foot the bill.
“As mayor, I will ensure the police are far more robust in cracking down on disruptive groups like this.”
In their latest protest outside Parliament on Monday, Just Stop Oil activists were mocked by Brits – with one asking: “Don’t you have jobs?”
The eco-zealots were joined by campaigners from Extinction Rebellion, Fossil Free London and Scientists for Extinction Rebellion to march against the Government’s new Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill.
