Climate protesters could be arrested before a days-long blockade of petrol stations, as the policing minister said officers will look at “all tactics” available to them.
Just Stop Oil, a collection of climate activists that includes members of Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, plans to target the UK’s oil infrastructure on March 14.
The Telegraph understands the group is confident it can block elements of the country’s Critical National Infrastructure, such as oil refineries, petrol stations and oil tankers.
It comes as the Government looks to pass its controversial policing bill, which would give police greater powers to apprehend, arrest and imprison protesters.
Officers have previously acted pre-emptively against protesters, such as against organiser Roger Hallam. He was arrested in September last year before the second Insulate Britain protest which saw one woman airlifted to hospital.
Police will ‘make sure the law is upheld’
Kit Malthouse, the minister for crime and policing, said: “I would hope that any future protesters would have learned some hard lessons from the ridiculous self-defeating Insulate Britain mob.
“If you have a cause you want to promote, it’s probably not a good idea to infuriate the vast majority of your fellow citizens with your protests, or indeed put their lives in danger.
“Whatever the cause and whatever the nonsense, I know the police will look at all the tactics available to them to make sure the law is upheld, and the fundamental right of the rest of us to go about our daily business unmolested is protected.”
The group is believed to have massed somewhere in the region of 1,000 recruits following a tour of universities by Mr Hallam, who was kicked out of Extinction Rebellion, the group he co-founded.
Insulate Britain only managed to muster 80 to 90 people on its first day of protests.
A source said that Insulate Britain had “flicked a switch” in people’s minds over what could be possible from protesting, especially serious disruption which Extinction Rebellion refers to as “spicy actions”.
“Nothing is off the table,” the source said. “Anything that is necessary to non-violently disrupt the chain of oil.”
