CAMPAIGNERS from the Just Stop Oil group have warned that today's delays (Wednesday, 20 July) on the M25 caused when its members climbed gantries, causing massive traffic delays as police intervened, is a sample of things to follow over the next few days.

The M25 in Thurrock at Junction 30 was virtually paralysed this afternoon by the protest, with traffic in both directions queuing back many miles and adjacent approach roads similarly affected.

Climate campaign group Just Stop Oil has claimed responsibility for the protest, which was replicated at two other points on the M25.

It said in a statement earlier in the day that activists would be launching action on the road.

They are demanding that the UK government pledges to immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK.

The statement said: "We are therefore declaring the M25 a site of civil resistance against our criminal government. We ask that no one travels on this motorway from Wednesday to Friday this week as we will be blocking the highway.

"We fully acknowledge the cost and disruption this will cause to the public and ask that they take their demands for compensation to the government which has caused this unprecedented threat to our lives and liberties."

Essex Police say they arrested one person while dealing with this afternoon's protest.

A statement from the force says: "We responded to reports of someone on a gantry above the clockwise section between junctions 30 and 31 shortly after 11am today.

"Our officers attended and worked to resolve the situation safely and this required specialist resources.

"The road was closed for a time but we worked to put a diversion in place to release traffic. A woman has now been arrested."

Chief Inspector Anna Granger said: "I want to thank the public for their patience and understanding while we dealt with this incident.

"We are well prepared for incidents of disruption on our roads and to keep Essex moving, and we enacted these quickly.

"This was a challenging incident to resolve due to its nature but we resolved it as quickly and safely as possible."

National Highways said five miles of queuing traffic had built up on the approach to junction 30. Motorists reported it took some more than 90 minutes to get through and cross the river.

Today's incidents in Thurrock came despite Thurrock Council taking out an injunction aimed at stopping disruption by JustStopOil.