The Assistant Chief Constable from Humberside Police has said that police officers “should not have to patrol the M25 waiting for protesters to turn up”.

Chris Noble, 43, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The people most likely to come to harm at the moment are probably police officers for having to run across motorways, try and remove protesters as well as ironically keep them safe from themselves.”

One of the activists, Zoe Cohen, told the Today programme on Wednesday that “safety has been foremost in our minds” and that the protesters involved “understand the risks they are taking”.

She said: “The people taking part in these actions understand that the risks they are taking are because we have tried everything else to make the Government protect us from the predicted impacts of climate chaos.”

Ms Cohen added that the “last thing” they want is for someone to come to serious harm.

Campaign ‘goes on’ despite prison threat

In response to the injunction against their protests, Insulate Britain said in a statement: “We understand that an injunction was granted against Insulate Britain in the High Court last night.

“We do not know the terms of the injunction and right now our campaign goes on.

“We appreciate that Priti Patel is in a difficult position. Like her, our biggest concern is law and order and our national security. In focusing on us, Priti Patel is missing the bigger picture.

“Currently 8,500 people a year die unnecessarily in the UK because of their frozen homes and climate collapse presents an incalculable threat to our way of life.

“A more measured way in which she could discharge her ministerial responsibility would be to ask the Prime Minister to start the process of insulating Britain’s leaky homes.

“As soon as the Government makes a meaningful statement that we can trust, we will leave the motorway.”