Just Stop Oil activist who brought M25 to a standstill says his decision has ‘ruined his life’ 

A Just Stop Oil activist who brought the M25 to a standstill last month by scaling a gantry over Junction 22 has told a judge that the selfish stunt ‘ruined his life’. 

Alfred Beswick, 26, of Hackney, London, helped close Britain’s busiest motorway to a halt during a series of climate protests by Just Stop Oil last month. 

Beswick used ropes and a harness to climb above junction 22 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, on 8 November as part of an aggressive campaign  of action by the group which saw the motorway halted at rush hour for weeks on end.

Beswick admitted causing a public nuisance at Southwark Crown Court yesterday. He has been in custody since his arrest and Nick Goss, defending, said he ‘is very anxious to get back to work.’ 

Just Stop Oil protester Alfred Beswick, 26, climbed a gantry on the M25 on November 8 (a man thought to be Beswick is pictured during the protest ) 

Beswick admitted causing a public nuisance at Southwark Crown Court yesterday. His protest caused huge tailbacks 

Judge Baumgartner accepted Beswick has shown ‘genuine remorse’ for his actions and said he hopes he had time to reflect on how his actions affect others around him. 

The court heard he had written a letter in which he admitted the move, designed to put pressure on the UK government to move away from a reliance on fossil fuels, had ‘ruined his life’ and damaged his relationship.  

Judge Tony Baumgartner said: ‘He’s accepted that this has completely ruined his life. It’s really disrupted his relationship with his partner… his partner is at risk of losing rented premises.’  

This came after activists blocked roads in central London every single day during October, seeing hundreds of its activists arrested. 

It also saw criticism of local police forces who failed to prevent most of the disruption from taking place and arrested several journalists reporting from the scene.

On November 8 Beswick was eventually returned to the ground by police and arrested at the scene.

Beswick admitted causing a public nuisance at Southwark Crown Court yesterday. He has been in custody since his arrest and Nick Goss, defending, said he ‘is very anxious to get back to work.’ Pic: A scene from the Nov 8 protest 

A totally empty M25 on November 8 after Beswick’s protest caused the arterial road to be shut 

Another Just Stop Oil protester on a M25 gantry on November 10 as part of a weeks-long campaign to place pressure on the government over fossil fuels

Beswick was granted bail ahead of sentence on 18 January, on condition he does not leave the E5, E8 and N1 postcode areas and lives and sleeps each night at his home in Hackney.

A total of 700 arrests were made in the six weeks of action from the start of October into November. 

It came as Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted traffic on Whitechapel Road in central London yesterday in protest of the decision to approve the first deep coalmine in Britain in 30 years.

At 9:15am, around 15 Just Stop Oil supporters wearing hi-vis vests walked onto Whitechapel Road, East London and proceeded to march slowly east and then west causing delays to rush hour traffic. The march continued on Commercial Road.

One of those in attendance was Sophie Holland, 51, a mother of three and NHS speech therapist from Bristol.

She said: ‘My concern for the future of everything has reached the point it seems reasonable, responsible even, to be in the streets demanding change.

‘I work with people with severe asthma and long Covid, who struggle to breathe. 

‘Air pollution will get worse, as will fires, floods, hunger. It is beyond contention. A liveable future is possible, but only if we stop new oil and gas. 

‘I’m terrified. I want my children to die of old age. What I can’t understand is why isn’t everyone on the streets, shouting for change?’ 

At 9:15am yesterday, around 15 Just Stop Oil supporters wearing hi-vis vests walked onto Whitechapel Road, East London and proceeded to march slowly east and then west causing delays to rush hour traffic

Drivers expressed their frustration at the protesters during yesterday’s stunt in east London  

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: ‘The government has just ripped up any pretence of global climate leadership and signed the death warrant for millions of people and for what? 

‘Coal that no British company wants or needs, whose credentials rest on dangerous lies about jobs and carbon capture and storage.

‘Their toxic plans will lead to social collapse and the destruction of everything we hold dear. This cannot stand. We need everyone out on the streets now to take back what is rightfully ours: the chance of a liveable future.’

Beswick will be sentenced on January 18. 

Just Stop Oil have adapted their tactics in recent weeks by walking into traffic rather than sitting down on the road, making it far harder for the police to arrest them for obstructing a highway. 

On Tuesday morning, activists walked onto the road at the Bricklayers Arms roundabout near the Old Kent Road in south-east London, much to the chagrin of motorists who were forced to crawl behind the group as rush-hour traffic came to a standstill.

An exasperated van driver was seen sticking his two fingers up at protesters while another furious motorist told police they ‘need to get a backbone’.

Just Stop Oil have adapted their tactics in recent weeks by walking into traffic rather than sitting down on the road, making it far harder for the police to arrest them for obstructing a highway. Pictured: A protest in south-east London on Tuesday 

One exasperated van driver was seen sticking his two fingers up at protesters as traffic came to a standstill

Others joked online that Salt Bae’s waitresses would do a better job of ‘[sorting] the soap dodgers’ after staff at his exclusive Knightsbridge steakhouse manually removed Animal Rebellion activists from a peaceful protest on Saturday.

The march continued through south London, followed by at least three police vans as the group blocked three lanes of traffic.

Just Stop Oil protests have caused significant disruption in recent months, frustrating members of the public and prompting tough talk from politicians, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman dubbing them ‘extremists’.

Earlier this month, police chiefs attended a summit at Downing Street to discuss how to deal with them.

Policing the protests has so far cost the force around £5.5 million, according to the Met Police’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist.

This week sees the continuation of court hearings for the Just Stop Oil supporters arrested as part of the four days of action on the M25 during November.

A total of 17 supporters including nine currently on remand are due to appear at Southwark Crown Court today.

Since the group launched their month of ‘civil disobedience’ throughout October, more than 700 people have been arrested and nearly 200 charged over the action.   

Others joked online that Salt Bae’s waitresses would do a better job of ‘[sorting] the soap dodgers’ after staff at his exclusive Knightsbridge steakhouse manually removed Animal Rebellion activists from a peaceful protest on Saturday 

Staff from Salt Bae’s Knightsbridge steakhouse Nusr-Et remove an environmental activist from Animal Rebellion, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion