Insulate Britain protester glued his face to the road as eco-zealots brought chaos to City of London, court hears
- Four men appear at the Old Bailey over eco protest that caused gridlock ‘chaos’
- One eco-zealot, Matthew Tulley, 44, is accused of gluing his face to the road
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An Insulate Britain protester glued his face to the road as eco-zealots brought rush-hour ‘chaos’ to the heart of the country’s financial sector, a court heard.
Matthew Tulley, 44, Ben Taylor, 38, George Burrow, 68 and Anthony Hill, 72, blocked traffic between Bishopsgate and Wormwood Street in the City of London on October 25 2021.
The climate change protest caused ‘gridlock’ in the capital’s financial district and disrupted the journeys of thousands of commuters, London’s Old Bailey heard.
Describing the carnage Sergeant Robert Payne, of City of London Police, told the court: ‘I have never seen the junction like that. It was absolutely gridlocked. It was chaos. That junction is paramount to the City of London. It was like I’ve never seen it.’
Prosecutor David Matthew told jurors the defendants had all been part of Insulate Britain, which had been ‘blocking roads’ for ‘some weeks’ and had been ‘attracted’ to the City of London due to the area’s ‘importance’.
Matthew Tulley, 44, was allegedly part of the Insulate Britain protest that brought chaos to the City of London financial district in October 2021. He was accused of gluing his face to the road
An Insulate Britain climate change activist with his head glued to the road is released from Bishopsgate in London today
Protesters blocked one of the key roads in City of London, which is used by buses and commuters, London’s Old Bailey heard. Pictured are Insulate Britain activists on October 25, 2021 during the demonstration
‘In the middle ages it had walls all around it. It has been the heart of the country’s financial sector,’ he said. ‘It has its own police force, the City of London Police.
‘The importance of the area attracted Insulate Britain’s attention.’
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Tulley, of Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, glued his face to the concrete, Mr Matthew said.
The prosecutor added the area was a ‘big bus route’ and that between 5,600 and 8,500 passengers were affected by Insulate Britain’s antics.
‘There is nothing wrong with protest,’ Mr Matthew said. ‘There is nothing wrong with trying to get your point across. But even if it is done in a non-violent way, there are limits to what you can do.
‘You can imagine the diversions and the effect that those diversions would have had on other parts of the road network.’
Sgt Payne added the junction where the protest took place was one of the main routes in the district.
He described seeing a ‘line of protesters’ sitting across the north-south lanes, armed with banners.
Activists armed with banners sat in the road, causing gridlock across the City of London (pictured)
‘One protester had glued their face to the road. That was the main risk of harm to an individual at the time,’ he added.
‘A number of protesters had glued their hands or bodies to different carriageways.’
Insulate Britain has demanded a national programme to insulate all homes by 2030.
Taylor, of Bury, Lancs, Tulley, Burrow, of Kendal, Cumbria and Hill, also of Kendal, all deny causing a public nuisance.
The trial continues.
