Met Police: Ignored Eco Activists Risk Becoming Radicalised

Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of Wellington Arch after Just Stop Oil protesters sprayed the building with orange paint in central London on Oct. 25, 2023. Just Stop Oil/PA Wire

Eco activists risk becoming radicalised as they sense “they are not being listened to by the government,” the country’s biggest police force has warned.

In a report released in late December, the Met Police said that there is a heightened risk from groups that are protesting climate change such as Just Stop Oil (JSO).

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.

‘Radicalisation Could Extend to Environmentalism’

In its annual review called the Force Management Statement, the Met said that, “Terrorists and radicalisers will always look for opportunities to exploit in support of their ideology.”

“There is the potential for this radicalisation to extend to environmentalism given the ever-increasing sentiment within this lobby, and a sense of not being listened to by government.”

JSO has cost taxpayers nearly £20 million since its first campaign in October 2022,  putting “significant pressure” on policing in the capital.

More than 650 activists have been arrested since police were granted new powers in October under Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023, which allows the Met to arrest those who commit an act “which interferes with the use or operation of any key national infrastructure in England and Wales.”

Key Threats

The Met report said that “Environmentalism, Football, Internationally Inspired, and Anti-Government” remain “key threats, with ”Animal Rights and Cultural Nationalism and Social Justice” being key drivers.

It said that Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) is “alive” to the issue of environmentalism radicalisation and that a multi-agency approach under “Prevent,” a government programme which aims to stop individuals from becoming terrorists, needs to be developed.

CTP added that it expects future demand to remain “significantly high” with the UK threat level at substantial or higher for the next four years, with Extreme Right Wing Terrorism and Cultural Nationalism increasing and the potential for Left Wing, Anarchist and Single Issue Terrorism to increase.

It added that the threat from Islamist terrorism is “to remain stable, but with high levels of extremism available online.”

Police said it is expected that the demand within public order and events, particularly environmentalism, will continue to evolve and maintain, if not increase, demand.

‘Welcomed the Opportunity to Meet’

The Met Police recently met with JSO activists.

On Tuesday, JSO offered to stop disruptive actions if the Met Police investigated the UK Government for “genocide by oblique intent.”

Sarah Lunnon, one of JSO’s co-founder, said: “Public order commander Karen Findlay requested a copy of our evidence and told us she will be taking this information to the commissioner and specialist operations—which covers genocide crimes.

“We have offered a pause on disruptive Just Stop Oil actions if this investigation is to go ahead. Negotiations are ongoing.”

A spokesperson for the Met said: “Public order officers welcomed the opportunity to meet with representatives from Just Stop Oil today. We ask to meet with all protest organisers, however, JSO had declined our previous requests.

“We emphasised that the Met will remain impartial and operationally independent at all times in the policing of protest, and that it is not the responsibility of the police to direct Government policy or decision-making.

“We were clear that the disruptive nature of their protests has put significant pressure on the Met—both in taking officers away from policing communities across London and the impact on our budget.

“We also reminded organisers of their legal responsibility to notify us about any future protests in advance as this means we can plan our response and potentially reduce the number of officers who need to be deployed.”

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.

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s organisation has donated $300,000 to the CEF.

In response to the Met report, a JSO spokeswoman told The Epoch Times by email, “Our leaders are the real eco-terrorists.”

PA Media contributed to this report.