The country’s most senior officer on policing protests has warned there will be no “arresting our way out of” the chaos caused by Just Stop Oil.
Chief Constable Chris Noble, who is the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) protest lead, said: “There’s a fair challenge about how effectively we are dealing with these particular protests … the answer to some of the challenges we face is not a policing answer.
“We’re part of it but we’re not going to arrest our way out of environmental protest.”
The defiant statement at the NPCC conference yesterday came after Suella Braverman told police to “step up” and take a “firmer line” against the protesters. The home secretary said there had also been a “loss in confidence” by police in their failure to make full use of their powers to crackdown on the protesters.
Activists are continuing to bring misery to thousands of motorists by blocking the M25 motorway every morning and have vowed to continue their campaign until the Government caves into its demands to stop issuing new oil and gas licences.
Read More: Police can’t ‘arrest our way out’ of Just Stop Oil protest, says senior officer
