Just Stop Oil protesters announce demonstration in Leeds city centre this weekend

The environmental activist group have hit the headlines for their disruptive protest tactics, including traffic obstruction and disrupting sporting events. The group says it will stage a demonstration in Leeds tomorrow (Saturday August 26).

Protesters are calling for the Government to stop granting licences for new oil and gas projects. Environmental campaigners say new developments in the North Sea, such as the Rosebank oil field west of Shetland, should be halted because of the impact they could have on climate change.

A spokesperson for the group said: “This isn’t about hugging trees, this is about having enough food to feed your starving children, this is about keeping them safe when people are fighting for food. We need to resist new oil and gas while we still can.

“We’ve had enough of this government’s lies. We all know that we cannot continue adding carbon into the atmosphere without consequence. The consequences are already unfolding around us.

"Panicking holiday makers in flip flops fleeing wildfires on Greek islands, floods and storms sweeping away houses and cars in China, India banning rice exports after heavy rains have decimated crops – nowhere is safe.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently said he is “committed” to reducing carbon emissions as he ruled out the suggestion of a referendum on the pledge to have a net zero economy by 2050.

The Tory Party leader has insisted that, despite concerns raised by the likes of former Conservative environment minister Lord Goldsmith about the Prime Minister’s green ambitions, he is working towards the 2050 net zero target.

Mr Sunak said he had given the police additional powers to crack down on “these kinds of eco extremists, these eco zealots, the Just Stop Oil and others who are disrupting all these sporting events over the summer in particular.”