Breaking News Update: Motorway protest brings M4 to a standstill

Motorway protests set to bring parts of the UK to standstill

Motorway protests set to bring parts of the UK to standstill

July 4: 11:54 am Police in Wales have protesters that it is aware of “driving offences” being committed during the fuel protest.

Police who are following the protest on the UK’s motorways have said they are taking note of those protestors breaking the rules of the road and in particular those using mobile phones to record the events.

Gwent issued a statement reported by Sky News that said: “We are aware of driving offences being committed during the planned protest on the M4.

“We are committed to increasing the safety of all road users in Gwent and beyond.

“We urge all motorists to drive carefully, responsibly and within the limits of the law.”

Wales Online have reported significant disruption to traffic on the M4 with the highway protest receiving wide support locally. Traffic at 12 pm is at a standstill with the police suggesting it could takes hours to clear the backlog.


July 4: 8:55 am. UK police have said many parts of the country will be brought to a standstill today with motorway protests over fuel duty targeting three-lane highways.

FairFuelUK founder Howard Cox told Sky News that the protesters will disrupt traffic across the UK by bringing the middle and shoulder lanes to a near standstill whilst the fast lane will be left free.

The protests have apparently been organised online using the banner Fuel Price Stand Against Tax, with calls for the government to do more than reduce the tax by 5p per litre.

Although Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that he will carefully reconsider the cut after it did little to stem the rise in prices, there has been no indication from the government that relief is coming anytime soon.

Petrol prices according to data firm Experian reached new highs on Thursday, June 30 of 191.4p and on diesel 199.1p.

The government has asked protesters to limit the disruption to people’s lives saying that they not only understand that people are struggling, but that delays will only make the problem worse by wasting even more fuel.

Areas expected to be affected are

  • The Prince of Wales bridge between England and Wales
  • The M4 at Magor services, junction 23A eastbound, and junction 20 of the M4 westbound.
  • The River Severn Bridge crossings this Monday, July 4 from 8.30 am.
  • The A48 in Gloucester
  • The M4, M5 and M6

A government spokesperson said: “While we respect the right to protest, people’s day-to-day lives should not be disrupted, especially on busy motorways where lives are put at risk and resulting traffic delays will only add to fuel use.

“The new Public Order Bill will make it a criminal offence to glue yourself to a dangerous motorway, which sees police spending hours trying to safely remove people.”

The motorway protests that are set to bring parts of the UK to a standstill are unlikely to change government policy, but rather just add to the disruption people trying to go about their daily lives are already experiencing.


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Written by

Peter McLaren-Kennedy

Originally from South Africa, Peter is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

Comments


    • M

      04 July 2022 • 12:17

      This appears to be just the start of civil unrest, The fuel exise in the UK is around £2 a liter (approx €2.36) of which the governement creams off most of this price in various taxes. So to put it in perspective 4.55 liters to a uk gallon that equates to £9 a gallon or €10.44!!!

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