A WOMAN is among the first to be charged with a new offence after officers dealt with an incident of disruption on the M25. Essex Police officers were called to an overhead gantry at junction 31 of the M25 on Wednesday, 20 July where members of the JustStopOil campaign group were protesting.

They climbed onto a gantry and a diversion was put in place in order to minimise disruption and the clockwise carriage way had to be closed while the incident was dealt with by police. Tailbacks, which at one point measured nine miles on the clockwise carriageway caused massive distruption to traffic.

Louise Lancaster, 56, of Burnt Close, Grantchester has been charged with intentionally and/or recklessly causing a public nuisance, which is an offence under new legislation, Section 78 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

She appeared at Southend Magistrates' Court yesterday (Friday, 22 July), and was remanded into custody to appear at a later date, yet to be fixed. 

Lancaster has become a prominent activist supporting both JustStopOil and Insulate Britain, which have been involved in major protest incdents across the country over the past year.

Prolific campaigner Louise Lancaster is nudged by a car while protesting in West Thurrock.

She was one of the protesters filmed sitting in London Road, West Thurrock, last October when they were 'nudged' along by a Range Rover driven by furious mother Sherrilyn Speid, 34, who had her school run delayed. The angry mum from Grays was later banned from driving for a year and ordered to pay a £40 fine, £95 victim surcharge and £105 in costs. She also had to carry out 20 days of community punishment.

Reflecting on the arrest of Lanmcaster, Detective Superintendent Jon Burgess, of the West Local Policing Area command, said: "While we will always do our best to allow for lawful protest, we will not tolerate behaviour which puts the public and indeed our officers and emergency services colleagues in danger.

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"I would urge anyone who plans to carry out what they perceive to be protest by disrupting roads or infrastructure in the coming days and weeks not to – your actions will likely result in you being arrested."