Policing the eco-activists Just Stop Oil (JSO) has cost taxpayers nearly £20 million, according to Metropolitan Police figures.
In a statement on Thursday, the Met said that since JSO’s first campaign in October 2022, £19.9 million had been spent on the group to date, with £3.5 million spent since October this year alone.
JSO is protesting the government awarding new oil contracts to businesses and is behind a wave of illegal actions, such as blocking access to petrol stations and parts of the M25, breaching High Court injunctions, and more.
Police said that a total of 657 arrests were made over the last five weeks as officers “worked to keep London moving in the face” of disruption.
‘Mass Unlawful Disruption’
Police used legislation from this year’s Public Order Act to arrest activists and remove them from roads, with powers to stop and search protesters and seize objects such as lock-on devices.Activists also faced 338 charges as a result of this.
“We believe this is the highest number of arrests ever made in response to mass unlawful disruption,” said the Met.
A further 308 activists remain on bail accused of offences including interfering with national infrastructure, ahead of further charging decisions.
Some individuals were arrested multiple times and face multiple charges.
The five-week operation since October cost at least £3.5 million and led to 10,500 officer shifts “being taken away from communities.”
Impacted By JSO’s Actions
Commander Kyle Gordon, who oversaw the operation, said that it is “tough to see resources being taken away from our boroughs by Just Stop Oil.”“These officers should be responding to local communities and dealing with local issues instead of being taken away to police Just Stop Oil protests. Their time could be far better spent tackling issues in our communities and keeping them safe,” he said.
“We understand that in a democratic society there is a strong presumption in favour of the right to protest, but we also have to consider the rights of those who are impacted by JSO’s actions. While there is a right to protest and have your voice heard, there is no right to cause sustained serious disruption,” he added.
JSO told The Epoch Times in a statement, “The police must know that unless steps are taken to prevent the extraction of new oil and gas, they will be on the frontlines of dealing with social breakdown and mass civil unrest.”
Climate Emergency Fund
JSO says it gets most of its funding—which it claims is “for recruitment, training, capacity building, and education”—from the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF).It is the biggest recipient of the fund, receiving $1.1 million.
The CEF is in turn partly funded by Aileen Getty, a U.S. billionaire whose grandfather was the petroleum tycoon J. Paul Getty. Ms. Getty co-founded the group with wealthy donors, including renewable fuels businessman Trevor Neilson and Rory Kennedy, daughter of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
CEF donor and Hollywood film director Adam McKay recently pledged to triple donations to JSO.
According to InfluenceWatch, Onward Together was created in the wake of Ms. Clinton’s loss to former President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, with fellow Democrat presidential hopeful Howard Dean.
The CEF has awarded millions to an international network of activists which they call the “disruptive arm of the global climate movement.”
Activists have sprayed paint on numerous buildings and in October, JSO activists attacked Van Gogh’s painting of a vase of sunflowers by tossing a can of tomato soup at it and gluing themselves to the frame.
“What is worth more, art or life?” said Phoebe Plummer, one of the activists.
The CEF did not respond to a previous request to clarify if CEF’s donated cash goes towards legal fees.
A JSO spokeswoman told The Epoch Times that the CEF “only funds recruitment, training, capacity building, and education.” She added that “most of Just Stop Oil’s funds now come from individual donations.”
The Epoch Times contacted CEF and Onward Together for comment.
