'You're messing with kids' education!': Furious mother on school run blasts eco mob

Furious mother on school run blasts eco mob – Insulate Britain mobs today targeted a major London roundabout and the M25 despite three court injunctions designed to stop them.

Around 40 demonstrators from the hated group were seen sitting on the road at junction 25 of the M25 at Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, and on the A501 at Old Street roundabout.

The group descended on both locations at around 9am, with the Met tweeting three hours later to say the roads had been cleared after 16 arrests on the M25 and 19 by the roundabout.

It came as new evidence emerged of the public’s growing anger at Insulate Britain’s selfish behaviour, with YouGov finding that 72% oppose their actions, up from 59% when the protests first began in mid-September.

And after three weeks of protest, the group has only made more people think they’re actually hindering their own cause – 64% felt this in September and 73% think it now.

Two of the motorway bandits were lambasted by a furious mother whose daughter was late for classes due to their actions, who told them: ‘It’s backing up, all because all you care about is insulating houses.

‘My daughter is late to school, you are messing with children’s education because you are selfish. I hope you got that on camera, I think they are a disgrace.’

At the same time scores of the protesters – who have been widely savaged for their actions – sat down in the Old Street by the hipster enclave of Shoreditch.

They were flanked by as many ‘official observers’ dressed in high-vis vests after a series of confrontations from furious motorists in recent days.

After heavy criticism, the unpopular campaigners were also seen moving for ambulances getting out.

Among the rabble was Joshua Smith, a multi-millionaire eco hypocrite who was seen being taken away by police in what is believed to be his seventh arrest after police repeatedly released him without conditions.

The activists are continuing to make a mockery of the law by violating injunctions passed by the High Court – which could see them jailed for contempt of court.

The original injunction, granted to National Highways on September 21, banned the demonstrations on the M25 and was followed by a second approved on September 24 which restricted protests around the Port of Dover.

A third injunction was granted against 100 activists on Saturday, banning them from obstructing traffic and access to motorways and major A roads in and around London – but this has failed to stop fresh chaos this morning.

'You're messing with kids' education!': Furious mother on school run blasts eco mob — ‘You’re messing with kids’ education!’: Furious mother on school run blasts eco mob

Millionaire eco hypocrite Joshua Smith was seen being arrested today. This is believed to be his seventh arrest after police repeatedly released him without conditions

Smith bragged about being arrested four times for ‘mourning for life on Earth’ on September 22. He seen right at an earlier protest on September 20

It came as new evidence emerged of the public’s growing opposition to Insulate Britain’s selfish behaviour, with YouGov finding that 72% oppose their actions, up from 59% when the protests first began in mid-September

And after three weeks of protest, the group has only made more people think they’re actually hindering their own cause – 64% felt this in September and 73% think it now

Three police officers carry away an activist from hated campaign group Insulate Britain from the Old Street roundabout today

Several protesters glued themselves onto the road – a familiar tactic – forcing officers to use a chemical solution to release them

Today’s disruption at the Old Street roundabout is the latest of a series of protests that has seen the group draw the ire of the public

An elderly Insulate Britain protester – wearing a suit and tie – is arrested and taken into a waiting police car by officers

Mr Smith was branded a hypocrite after it emerged he owned a multi-million pound property empire – but the homes had poor insulation, an issue at the heart of the group’s agenda.

The 28-year-old is heir to a £2million property portfolio and also has a seven-figure estate of his own. However, at least six homes owned by his Oldham-based company have efficiency ratings of E or F, according to the Sun.

This means the properties boast little or no insulation and also produce large quantities of extra carbon dioxide. Smith was pictured being held by police by the side of the M25 today before being led off in a police van.

Today, Insulate Britain was utterly unrepentant about the damage they were doing.

Spokesman Liam Norton said: ‘This isn’t a cause, this is about the deaths of our children before they get to grow old. This isn’t protesting, this is about doing whatever it takes to protect the future generations. And we want to be clear, this campaign will continue until the government gives us a meaningful statement we can trust, if that happens we will get off the roads like a shot

The Met Police said: ‘We are responding to two protests this morning which are blocking roads. Activists are disrupting traffic around Old Street roundabout.

‘They’re also disrupting motorists at Junction 25 of the M25. We’re on scene and working quickly to get traffic moving.

‘We know that some activists have used super glue to frustrate our efforts and to delay Londoner’s even further.

‘We train for these scenarios and have specialist teams on hand to help remove people and make arrests. We will share more information shortly.

The group, which is calling on the Government to insulate all homes across the UK by 2030 to help cut carbon emissions, has mostly focused on blockading the M25 but has sat down on other London roads since last Friday.

Until now, they had not yet carried out any road protests for a few days day, but their campaign of roadblocks caused fresh misery yesterday, as activists targeted three major sites of the Blackwall Tunnel, Wandsworth Bridge and Hanger Lane.

At the Conservative Party conference the Prime Minister said the Insulate Britain protesters had been ‘doing considerable damage to the economy’.

His comments came ahead of Home Secretary Priti Patel’s speech, where she laid out new measures to deal with demonstrators deemed to be disruptive.

This man wore large plastic safety glasses to today’s protest at Old Street. Officers are seen carrying him away along with a bag of his belongings

An elderly woman is kept in handcuffs on the pavement by Old Street – one of London’s busiest junctions

These two activists appeared to have glued themselves together. An officer is seen trying to release them

An officer trying to release an activist from near the Old Street roundabout today. The activists wear glasses to prevent the glue getting in their eyes

A woman is led away by a police officer, who is carrying her backpack, after Insulate Britain blocked the Old Street roundabout today

Insulate Britain activists at Old Street today. They also blocked part of the M25 motorway today in defiance of an injunction

Police officers speaking with protesters who had glued themselves onto the road by Old Street roundabout this morning

Boris Johnson told LBC: ‘There are some people who call those individuals legitimate protesters.

‘They are not. I think they are irresponsible crusties who are basically trying to stop people going about their day’s work and doing considerable damage to the economy.

‘That is why we have taken the powers and why Priti Patel is doing the right thing to bring in powers so they can get six months or an unlimited fine.’

The Home Secretary announced plans for eco-fanatics to be hit with a new type of Asbo in a fresh attempt to bring their chaotic road protests to an end.

The Criminal Disruption Prevention Orders – dubbed ‘Asbos for crusties’ – are intended to be quicker to enforce than the Government’s current approach, which has been based on High Court injunctions.