Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil are not peaceful protesters, if their cause was more sinister, police would not stand by and allow this madness to continue, says Dan Wootton

The eco-terrorists of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion march on, wreaking havoc on society by causing a third of Britain’s southern petrol stations to run out of fuel ­– and the police and those in power seem to continue to shrug off this criminal activity by the delusional green extremists.

Now I am all for the right to protest – I’ve stood up for that for the past two years in the Covid era where anti-lockdown and vaccine mandate groups were stamped out by the authorities faster than you could say: Where’s your vaccine passport?

But XR and Just Stop Oil are not peaceful protesters – and if their cause was more sinister, there is no way police would stand blindly by and allow this madness to continue.

A reminder that the The 2000 Terrorism Act states…

“Terrorism means the use or threat of action where… the use or threat is designed to influence the government… and… the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political… or ideological cause.

“Action falls within this subsection if it… involves serious damage to property… endangers a person’s life… creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a section of the public, or is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system.”

Of course, that’s exactly what these eco-zealots are doing.

And, by the way, they set their cause back years by turning off ordinary Brits like me who acknowledge we must protect the environment but want to do so in a sensible, slow and practical manner that doesn’t cripple our economy by rushing too soon into Net Zero, given we’re only responsible for less than one per cent of global carbon emissions.

If only we were allowed to be more like this frustrated driver in the Netherlands, who wasn’t going to let the Extinction Rebellion nutters stop his journey.

But in the UK, that driver would be arrested and end up being dragged through court just like Sherrilyn Speid.

The irony, of course, is that she’s the only one convicted of any crime.

In Warwickshire, the eco mob says they’ve dug a tunnel under a tanker route to block deliveries.

And Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin said…

“We cannot stand by while criminal acts are being committed, and lives are being put at risk, in the name of protest.”

It’s already cost £1 million in police action. Money the country doesn’t have.

The Home Secretary Priti Patel is absolutely right to brand the idiots causing fuel shortages as “fanatical, and frankly dangerous” – but what is she going to do about it?

It’s not as if these groups failed to warn her of their plans and, given their utter hysteria, the criminal activity is only going to get worse. Especially if they feel they can get away with it.