![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/just-stop-oil-protesters-have-a-point-says-minister-as-they-block-m25-again/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TELEMMGLPICT000315485771_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqoXJUJZ2koYGvlQ_O-BqYxpRMR6je8M6Zkkk4gTV4TRI.jpeg&description=Just Stop Oil protesters have a point, a Cabinet minister has said, as the activists kicked off a second day of action on the M25. Essex Police said officers are currently at the north-bound carriageway of the motorway near the Dartford Crossing, where a protester believed to be from Just Stop Oil has climbed the gantry at junction 31, closing the Dartford tunnel. National Highways said there are currently delays of 60 minutes with congestion for five miles. Meanwhile, Hertfordshire Police said officers were responding to a protest at junction 20 of the M25 near Kings Langley and urged motorists to seek alternative routes. When Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, was asked if the environmental protestors had a point, he told Sky News: "Well, they do in [a] sense. "Couple of points... one is absolutely we are all determined, and this Government above all else is absolutely determined, to bear down on the use of fossil fuels. "Second point I would make is that we do have to strike the right balance between the right of individuals to express their opinion and protest, which is absolutely fundamental to a civilised democracy - which is what we have in our country - and at the other time, making sure that we don't inconvenience the public or indeed endanger the public in some circumstances." But he added there is a "major issue" when individuals can "go on to motorways or even just outside Parliament, in fact, periodically, at will, just sit down in the middle of the road and disrupt the traffic," and that emergency services can be caught up in the action. Surrey Police tweeted that two protesters had climbed motorway gantries between junctions 8 and 9, and junctions 12 and 13, stopping traffic in both directions on that part of the M25. One LBC caller named Matt told presenter Nick Ferrari that he saw "proactive policing" near the Clacket Lane services on the M25. He said he saw three police vans, "a couple of cars and a motorbike".){kind=link}
National Highways said there are currently delays of 60 minutes with congestion for five miles
Just Stop Oil protesters have a point, a Cabinet minister has said, as the activists kicked off a second day of action on the M25.
Essex Police said officers are currently at the north-bound carriageway of the motorway near the Dartford Crossing, where a protester believed to be from Just Stop Oil has climbed the gantry at junction 31, closing the Dartford tunnel.
National Highways said there are currently delays of 60 minutes with congestion for five miles.
Meanwhile, Hertfordshire Police said officers were responding to a protest at junction 20 of the M25 near Kings Langley and urged motorists to seek alternative routes.