UK Edition
‘People can find another route to hospital,’ says defiant Insulate Britain leader after series of protests
Liam Norton claimed there are ‘no examples of ambulances being stopped’ by demonstrations, despite complaints by NHS workers
The leader of Insulate Britain has said “people can find another route to hospital”, after claiming there are “no examples of ambulances being stopped” during disruptive protests.
The comments by Liam Norton, a spokesman and key figure in the group, came despite multiple reports of worried drivers trying to reach loved ones in hospital, as well as ambulances stuck in tailbacks.
Mr Norton was one of 124 protesters arrested after 250 people sat on Lambeth Bridge in London on Saturday. They prevented anyone from driving through for more than four hours, before police took action under the Public Order Act.
The protesters were demonstrating against the imprisonment of nine Insulate Britain activists who were found guilty of breaking a High Court injunction. Insulate Britain denied organising the demonstration.
Whilst being handcuffed and still sitting, Mr Norton can be seen in one video clip telling police: “This is the start of a journey to resist criminality by a government which is leaving millions of people to die. They’re allowing unimaginable horror to take place.
“This is part of a world wide resistance against criminals in action.”
He can then be seen standing up and walking into the back of a police van whilst waving at his group members.
Saturday’s protests came just days after nine were jailed for breaching an injunction to stop them from blocking roads.
Ana Heyatawin, 58; Louis McKechnie, 20; Ben Buse, 36; Roman Paluch-Machnik, 28; Oliver Rock, 41; Emma Smart, 44; Tim Speers, 36; and James Thomas, 47, received three- or four-month sentences.
Another protester, Ben Taylor, 37, was sentenced to six months after his breaches were deemed as a “call to arms” in court.
The group is calling on the Government to insulate all houses by 2030, in a bid to help with the problem of climate change.
It has caused chaos on roads and motorways for months and have even stopped ambulances from reaching destinations in emergency situations – something the group deny having knowledge of.