A High Court order aiming to prevent protesters from disrupting Britain’s busiest motorway has been extended. On Friday, National Highways obtained the injunction targeting protesters taking action on the M25, its feeder roads and major routes in Kent and around the Port of Dover.
Anyone causing the blocking of, endangering or preventing the free flow of traffic can be found in contempt of court and face imprisonment, the seizure of assets or a fine.
It also covers specific roads around Luton and Stansted airport and remains in force until May 10 2025.
National Highways said: “We’re working with the police to keep disruption to the public to a minimum. Millions of people rely on the strategic road network every day and they have a right to expect it to operate as it should.
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“Our primary concern is always safety. Protesting on our network is extremely dangerous, both for motorists and for the protesters themselves.”
A copy of the order has been sent to a number of environmental groups; including Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain, Extinction Rebellion and Animal Rebellion.
It comes as more than 1,200 artists, athletes and academics have condemned the “injustice” of sentences handed to five Just Stop Oil activists this week for perceived peaceful protests.
Roger Hallam, 58, was jailed for five years after being found guilty of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance for his involvement in a protest that disrupted the M25 in London for more than four days in 2022.
Cressida Gethin, 22, Daniel Shaw, 38, Lucia Whittaker de Abreu, 35, and Louise Lancaster, 58, were jailed for four years over the demonstration, which saw 45 people climb on to gantries over the motorway.
The jail terms are thought to be the longest sentences ever given for peaceful protest and exceed those handed to two fellow Just Stop Oil protesters for scaling the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge on the Dartford Crossing in October 2022.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has faced calls to intervene in the case while UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk described the sentences as “deeply troubling”.
During the trial at Southwark Crown Court , prosecutors alleged the M25 protests led to an economic cost of at least £765,000 while the cost to the Metropolitan Police was more than £1.1 million.
They also allegedly caused more than 50,000 hours of vehicle delay, affecting more than 700,000 vehicles, and left the M25 “compromised” for more than 120 hours.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said: “Decisions to prosecute, convict and sentence are, rightly, made independently of Government by the Crown Prosecution Service, juries and judges respectively. The Attorney General has no power to intervene in these cases.”
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