Insulate Britain targets Canary Wharf in renewed roadblock campaign

Insulate Britain has targeted Canary Wharf in London as the environmental group renews its roadblock campaign after a pause.

Demonstrators obstructed Limehouse Causeway at the junction with the A1206 at 8.20am on Monday. Others targeted Liverpool Street, Bishopsgate and Upper Thames Street.

A total of 51 activists were sitting in the roads with Insulate Britain banners. Police were in attendance.

To coincide with the start of the demonstrations, the group posted the following message on its website at 8.30am: “We won’t stand by while the government kills our kids.”

In a statement, the activist Liam Norton called the government “treasonous”, claiming it had “betrayed” citizens and was leading the country on a path to “genocide”.

He said: “We know that the public is frustrated and annoyed at the disruption we have caused. They should know that one way or another this country will have to stop emitting carbon.

“We can do that now in an orderly, planned way, insulating homes and preventing thousands of deaths from fuel poverty, or we can wait until millions have lost their homes and are fighting for water or starving to death.”

Insulate Britain, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, wants the government to insulate all UK homes by 2030 to cut carbon emissions.

The group blocked roads on 14 days over the five weeks to 14 October, with activists gluing their hands to the carriageway to increase the length of time it takes for police to remove them. Hundreds of arrests were made and some people were detained several times.

The campaign continues despite injunctions leaving protesters facing court summons and possible imprisonment or an unlimited fine.