Police have issued an update on 18 people who were arrested following a protest which caused chaos at a roundabout.

Demonstrators from campaign group Insulate Britain stationed themselves across the M25 network including at junction 20 for the A41 and Kings Langley on Monday.

At around 8am at junction 20, protesters sat themselves across the roundabout completely blocking access for drivers.

Officers arrested 18 people in connection with the protest.

Hertfordshire Constabulary has said today (Tuesday) that they have now been released under investigation.

Numerous police vehicles were parked on the eastern side of the roundabout behind the protesters with as many as 50 officers believed to be in attendance, as traffic piled up behind on the A41 and A4251.

Watford Observer: Police vehicles on the M25 roundabout by Kings Langley. Credit: LBCPolice vehicles on the M25 roundabout by Kings Langley. Credit: LBC

At one point, the protesters did move out of the way to allow an ambulance on blue lights to travel through the scene and onto the A41 towards Watford.

Police confirmed the protesters were cleared at around 10.20am.

Insulate Britain confirmed it was behind the protests, which have also been taking place in Kent and Surrey.

On the M25, believed to be near Heathrow, protesters sat themselves across six lanes on one side of the main carriageway.

The campaign group tweeted: "We are disrupting the M25. Why? We are demanding the government and @BorisJohnson create hundreds of thousands of jobs, lower our emissions, and save lives."

 

 

AA president Edmund King condemned the protest.

He said: "This action is not only incredibly dangerous in potentially putting lives at risk but it also backfires in environmental terms by causing more delays and more vehicle emissions.

"These are some of the busiest sections of the M25 where tens of thousands of drivers will have been affected and has a negative knock-on effect on economic activity."