Just Stop Oil protesters have also blocked access to Titan Truck Park in Essex, which contains more than 100 oil tankers used to service the area’s three main terminals. Protesters are demanding that the UK government suspend new oil and gas projects. Just Stop Oil posted a photo of one of its activists inside an underground tunnel at one of Essex terminals and wrote: “In the tunnel – these people are in danger of hiding (sic) asking for #NoNewOil – calling on the government to protect all of us.” In an earlier tweet, the group shared a video with police beginning to dismantle a wooden structure covering one of the tunnels. Image: Just Stop Oil shared a picture of one of its activists in an underground tunnel Just Stop Oil wrote: “The police began to break up the tunnel – with the supporters of #JustStopoil still in and in the tunnel. Concerns about people’s safety.” The team said access to the tunnels at Navigator and Grays meant the main and emergency access roads to the terminals were closed. Essex police have now arrested 83 people after two days of protests in the Thurrock area, with 20 of those arrested on Saturday. The police arrested 63 people in demonstrations in the areas around the oil terminals on Friday. Officials said the protesters had been arrested on suspicion of various offenses. Assistant Commander Rachel Nolan said: “Our officers continue to work in extremely difficult conditions to bring these protests to a safe and speedy end. “I would like to thank the companies, the local drivers and the employees for their continued patience as we carry out our work.” The latest protest comes a day after the Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion blocked 10 fuel plants in the Midlands and southern England to resist “expanding oil and gas production in the UK”. The protesters were stuck in the streets and locked in oil barrels from 4 in the morning. Image: Police remove activist who was part of a blockade at Esso Birmingham gas station on Friday Image: Just Stop Oil activists appear during blockade of Esso Birmingham gas station ExxonMobil UK, one of the country’s largest privately owned underground pipeline distributors, said it had closed three of its terminals as a result, and police from at least five forces were deployed to quell the protests. Metropolitan Police arrested 14 activists who stormed a Bedfont Road facility in Staines, Surrey, and West Midlands police arrested six people at a terminal in Tyburn, Birmingham. Police said the arrests were made for offenses such as aggravated assault, criminal damage and obstruction of the highway. Despite the arrests, both Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion have warned they will be “more annoying than ever” from next week. They said they would hold demonstrations in Hyde Park every day from April 9 and expect a huge number of people to attend. “It will be easy to meet, it will be easy to participate, we will be more subversive than ever and it will be impossible to ignore us,” a spokesman told the Times.
