A further injunction has been approved today (24 September 2021) by the High Court against climate activists who have been carrying out a string of disruptive demonstrations along major roads and at the vital Port of Dover, attempting to cause blockages and travel chaos for tens of thousands of people.

With immediate effect, protesters will be in contempt of court if they breach the terms of an interim injunction won by National Highways today.

Breach of the injunction can be punishable by up to 2 years in prison and an unlimited fine, serving as a deterrent for anyone thinking of rejoining the disruptive action.

National Highways previously secured an injunction against the protesters for the guerrilla tactics used by activists on the M25 and intends to return to court to extend the injunction and potentially seek additional powers of arrest.

The government’s intervention will help dissuade activists from carrying out any further disruption.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

We are absolutely committed to protecting the right to peaceful protest, but it is unacceptable that people cannot go about their day-to-day businesses and that businesses or critical supplies should be put on a knife’s edge because of the reckless actions of a few protesters.

I commend the work of Kent Police and the Port of Dover authorities today to quickly resolve the issue and keep our critical supplies moving and I will do everything to prevent these sorts of guerrilla tactics from putting people’s lives at risk and keeping our emergency services away from the communities that need them.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

The British public are rightly furious that the behaviours of a selfish minority have been putting lives at risk and causing untold disruption on our roads and now at Dover. We will not tolerate the recklessness of these few activists and the police continue to have our full support in cracking down on their dangerous behaviour.

The public and the police want officers back serving their communities and cutting crime, not dealing with people happy to put the safety and needs of others at risk.

The government is already ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030, investing billions of pounds to help industry and drivers make the switch to cleaner vehicles, and will continue its work to install thousands of chargepoints and boost the development of new technologies to meet ambitious net zero goals.

Campaign group Insulate Britain’s recent demonstrations have led to considerable disruption on one of the UK’s busiest motorways – creating a backlog of traffic and more pollution – as well as blocking the emergency services from reaching those whose lives are in danger.

Over 200 people involved with the demonstrations have already been arrested and previous actions of Extinction Rebellion – of which Insulate Britain is an offshoot – have cost the UK taxpayer £50 million.

On his first official visit as new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove today (24 September 2021) toured towns across the north-east to see first-hand how ambitious local plans are being put into action to help level up the region.

In Darlington, Mr Gove toured the National Horizons Centre which is bringing together industry and academia in a world-class centre of excellence for biosciences.

The Secretary of State also visited Teesworks industrial zone in Redcar where he toured part of the 4,500 acre site and heard more about plans for a Freeport, which will boost manufacturing, jobs and investment in the region.

Finally he travelled to the town of Thornaby to see how £23.9 million government investment from the Towns Fund is being used to create more homes, improve local transport and generate new opportunities for local people.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove MP said:

It’s been fantastic to see how our levelling up agenda is boosting opportunity, employment and pride right across the country.

From Teesworks in the north-east, creating thousands of jobs, and the new town centre improvements in Thornaby, which will make it a more vibrant place to visit, today I’ve seen first hand the excellent work that shows how we are building back better from the pandemic and making a real difference to people’s lives.

Across the country, levelling up is spreading opportunity, boosting living standards and improving public services.

Our White Paper which will be published in the coming months will help drive forward our central mission to level up every corner of the UK. This will be backed by the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund which will support and create jobs, boost skills and help improve the look and feel of towns and cities across the UK.

National Horizons Centre (NHC) is a centre of excellence for biosciences, part of Teesside University. It received 17.5 million from the Local Growth Fund to help discover diseases earlier, develop novel treatments, and deliver life changing medicines to those in need, quicker, safer and more affordably.

The government has invested over £200 million in Teesworks industrial zone in Redcar, including over £50 million from this department, to support site management, demolition and land remediation to make 2000 acres ready for investment. The development of the site is expected to create 20,000 jobs by 2035.

The Teesside Freeport was one of eight announced in March 2021 and will be the biggest Freeport in the UK covering a range of sites across the Tees Valley.

Over the past year, we have also supported 101 towns across England through the £2.4 billion Towns Fund. Darlington received £22.3 million from the Towns Fund to improve the T-Levels offer in the town, kickstarting careers in a number of fields. Redcar received £25 million to help them transform the town centre and seafront. In Thornaby, which is a town on the River Tees, they are creating new homes, regenerating the town centre and boosting local skills and employability with the help of £23.9 million.

Thank you, Madam President,

Let me start with China. We remain seriously concerned about systematic human rights violations in Xinjiang. The evidence is compelling and far-reaching. UN experts must have immediate and unfettered access to Xinjiang. We share the High Commissioner’s regret that she has not been granted access to date and we welcome her plans for an assessment of the available information later this year.

We condemn the military coup in Myanmar, and we call on the military junta to return power to the democratically elected government, and end its serious human rights violations.

The human rights picture in South Sudan remains deeply worrying, particularly given government attempts to stifle peaceful protest. The Commission on Human Rights remains a necessary mandate.

Russia must uphold the human rights of all, including the right to freedom of expression and the right to free elections. Russian authorities’ measures to marginalise civil society, silence independent media, and prevent independent opposition candidates from participating in the State Duma elections undermine political plurality and disregard Russia’s international commitments.

Syrians continue to suffer horrific human rights violations and risk being killed by the regime and its allies. There must be accountability for victims and perpetrators must face justice. We thank the OHCHR for its important reporting on civilian casualties.

The stark increase in executions in Egypt is alarming. We call on Egypt to cease use of the death penalty, and we are deeply concerned by terrorism charges against journalists and activists, and by asset freezes and travel bans on human rights defenders.

We welcome steps by the Government of Burundi that demonstrate greater commitment to human rights. International monitoring of the situation should continue. We call on Burundi to cooperate with all UN human rights mechanisms.

Finally, the UK has raised its concerns about Afghanistan, Tigray, Venezuela and Belarus in other statements.

Thank you.